Training Ash
by regenengel3
Summary: For ten years, tales of an enigma have been growing. This trainer was ruthless, cunning, and trained her pokemon to respond to numbers and dance steps. Among law enforcement, Fremd was used for undercover work. Now, this enigma has taken on a new mission. Training loud, brash, but honest Ash Ketchum, Hero of the World. BEING EDITED! WILL BE RE-UPLOADED UNDER THE SAME NAME!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything pokemon.

A/N: Updates will be sporadic. suggestions welcome, but there is something vaguely resembling a plot. Gets better later, promise!

 **Chapter 1:** The Meeting

Ash let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding as he looked at the forest spread out before him. "Well, I did it. I got to the finals at the Indigo League," he said, though he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed in himself.

"You did good kid, but you're still a bit rough around the edges," a slightly gruff, yet still distinctly feminine voice said from behind him. Turning in surprise, Ash found a short, well muscled, woman with a scar on her left cheek. The woman grinned at him. "I'm glad I caught you before you left, Mr. Ketchum. You're something of a raising star in Kanto, did you know? Then again, I heard your name over in Johto, just before I caught a ferry over to watch the Indigo Leauge," she said, a twinkle in her eye. Ash felt a little unnerved by the woman. She had short, choppy brown hair with streaks of blond, eyes that could have been green, blue, or dark gray that seemed to be able to stare right into his soul, and the all around hard look of someone accustom to living on the road and in the wild. Her clothes were dirty and worn, but solid and well made. Her boots were lightly scuffed, their buckles a bit dented, and her bomber jacket was faded slightly, but both items seemed to be in the best condition for how old they looked to be. The woman was smiling at him in a slightly off putting manner, but there was something...

"Who are you?" he asked. Pikachu chimed in his skepticism as well. The woman shook her head.

"At least you aren't a _total_ idiot. I have many names, but you may call me Fremd," she said. Ash tilted his head.

"That's not your name?" She gave him a sad smile.

"No. It is a reminder," she said before she turned and walked out. "I will be seeing you again, Mr. Ketchum, and when I do... I hope you'll take me up on the offer I will give." Ash blinked, and she was gone. He looked to his faithful friend, Pikachu.

"That was odd, wasn't it pal?" he said.

"Pika, pika kachu chu, PikaPi," Pikachu responded, wondering if he should be worried about the woman's parting words. Ash, however, put it from his mind and went about his life.

/*/

Fremd had not left. No. She was watching her future student. And she was _not_ impressed. "Kid trains and battles pokemon for a living and can't sense me even when I'm doing nothing to hide my presence? He's been traveling for a year now and can't tell when there are unseen eyes on him?! And why is he just brushing me off?! Man, I've got my work cut out for me, don't I Luke?" she remarked to her faithful Lucario.

'I agree, Meema. His senses are deplorable. Are you sure he's the one?' he asked over the aura. Fremd sighed, her piercing eyes growing dark, like the shadowed forests she had first raised him in.

"Yes, Luke. I am sure. Ash Ketchum is to be my student... and he is to save the world ten times over, regardless of his... questionable... mental capacities and... dubious... no. I can't call it 'skill.' That's an insult to the very idea. No. He has luck, not skill. Heart as well. But not skill. That... will come later, with time and experience. Lots of time. And maybe a whip?" Luke sighed, experiencing what could only be called a 'sweatdrop moment.'

'Meema... you're scary...'

"Hush now! It is time we went to Rota. There's a lucario band there that Arceus told me to live with for at least three years. The time has come for me to truly learn the ways of aura," Fremd said, not taking her eyes off her future student. Luke shook his head, but followed his Meema when she finally moved. He wouldn't admit it, but he was excited to see the Rota band. Oh, what they could teach them!

/*/

(Three Years Later, in the Wilderness of Rota...)

Fremd looked at the crystal by her feet. It was flashing red. She dashed to the edge of the ridge and looked out at the Tree of Beginning and gasped. It looked like a ticking time-bomb! "LUKE!" she cried, summoning her faithful companion. "We need to get to the palace," she said, still looking at the tree. Luke gave a growl of understanding and took off running. Fremd followed soon after, running as fast as she could, augmenting her legs with what little aura she could muster. She wasn't a powerhouse, like the Guardians of old, but she could still use the aura available to her, and do that with great skill. Not too surprising really, since she had been training ever since Sinnho, where she saved a riolu egg from a river and the parents of the egg insisted she come to their home. They had insisted she stay until little Luke had a grounding in the basics of aura, and when they realized she was the Promised Mentor they taught her as well. She stayed there for two years. That had been six years ago and she had been training on her own for three years before spending the last three with the Rota Lucario Community. As Arceus had commanded. Fremd and Luke reached the palace and were let through immediately, the guards knowing exactly who she was and knowing she usually avoided human contact. And wondering at the expression on her face. Why would she be so happy? Luke looked to his Meema, also wondering what she was grinning about, when they arrived at the throne room. "Well well, look who the Mew drug in," Fremd said with a grin. Ash started while Lady Ilene giggled behind her hand. Luke was just plain confused now. To borrow a phrase from his Meema: what the fraznare?

"Fremd?" Ash asked. She nodded, grin now turning into a smirk. Oh this was going to be interesting.

"I said you could be great, didn't I? Said you were a raising star. Did you think I meant only in the realm of competitive battling?" she asked, leaning to the side and resting a scared hand on her hip. Ash blushed slightly. That was when Luke noticed something. He used his aura to connect with Fremd's and asked,

'Isn't he supposed to be older?' Fremd chuckled a bit.

"Yeah. He is," she whispered to her surrogate son. "I figured you'd be older than ten when we met again, Mr. Ketchum. Tell me, did _time_ decide _you_ were too mainstream and just pass you over? Or did _you_ decide _aging_ was too mainstream and decide to skip it?" she asked. Brock looked like he was about to go into 'love mode' when Luke gave him the evil eye.

"Wait... you have a Lucario?" Ash asked, distracted by the pretty pokemon. Fremd refrained from face-palming, but only just.

"Yes, I have a Lucario. I rescued Luke's egg and raised him as my own, even though his real parents pretty much dragged me into their Community and built me a house so I was pretty much forced to stay there a while. Now, my question?" she said, giving him a rather mild glare.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm nearly thirteen," he said. Fremd blinked.

"Huh. You still look like a little ten year old, still wet behind the ears. All the same... with a little work... and a lot of dedication and discipline... So, what do you say? Will you let me train you so that you may progress from the plateau you have found yourself on?" she asked, holding out a hand. Lady Ilene was still giggling, but she paused for a moment to add her say.

"Lady Fremd is a formidable fighter, and an excellent trainer. She has helped guard our kingdom for these past three years, her exploits winning the respect of many of the Knights. If you accept, I can assure you, it would not be wasted effort. Lady Fremd has many other titles as well. You may have heard of the Pokemon Traveler, Pokemon Camper, Exile, Number Trainer, Dance Trainer, or Three Team Trainer." Brock was openly gaping by now, but Ash was as clueless as always.

"Who?" he asked. Fremd growled.

"That's it! Even if I had hoped not to have a reputation, even I have heard of all of those titles, and I make it a point to live in the wilderness with just my pokemon! Your time of tactless ignorance has come to an end! I'm training you whether you like it or not and believe you me, you're going to hate me for a good three months. At _least!_ " she said, fighting to keep from shouting. Luke stood back with May, Max, and Brock, shaking his head. Poor Ash, he was in for a world of hurt. And he had no escape.

/*/

They had left the palace at Roto three hours ago, Fremd setting a furious pace, until they reached a rocky outcropping. There, they saw the remains of a camp site. "Welcome, idiots, to my home for the past week. Please, find a rock, make yourself comfortable, talk with my crew. I'm going to go pound some sense into your budding Aura Guardian," she said, waving a hand about the place. seventeen pokemon came out of the rocks. "Oh yes! The rest of my crew. Meet: Blaze Fist," a stately blaziken nodded, "Stacy," a raichu, "Hector," a scarred heracross, "Mike," a medicham, "Tox," a toxicroak, "You've met Luke," the lucario from earlier nodded with what could be called a grin, "they make up my Fighting Team. Next we have the Fire Team," she said. Six pokemon came forward. "That's Dai," a delphox bowed to them, "Ranj," a rapidash inclined his head, "Ty," a typhlosion, "Flan," a growlithe, "the Queen gave him to me, making him the youngest. And other there is Polly," a talonflame, "I know, not that original, but I swear, when I caught her, she was trying to mimic me. Then there's Not-So-Little Leo," a pyroar flicked his tail at them.

"So let me get this straight, you have three full teams that just... stay with you?" Ash asked. Fremd gave him a dull look.

"Yes."

"How does that work?"

"I saved the collective hides of pretty much every high ranking official in three regions, am on first name basis with seven professors, three gym leaders, and the grand champions of Sinnho, Kalos, and Kanto, _and_ I'm a Wild Guard for Rota. What's a Wild Guard? Basically, I'm a park ranger for the whole of the Rota wilderness. The pokemon in the area trust me, they know me, I'm basically an honorary citizen of these mountains. It also means I have the Queen's full backing and support. No way is the league going to tell me they know better, in any Region, with a rap sheet like that. Plus, they need me and they know they need me. So, to answer your question, I am who they call when they can call no-one else, and if they restrict me, they restrict their options. It's in their best interest if I have close to free range. And they _know it_. That's how it works, Dickkopf," she said.

"What did you call me?" Ash asked. "I may not be the most knowledgeable person in the world but that sounded like an insult."

"I called you a dickkopf. It means 'thick head,' but it just sounds more derogatory in German," Fremd said. "It's also your nickname until you stop acting like a dickkopf." Brock couldn't help it. He chuckled.

"Oh, I like this one," he said. Fremd snorted.

"As long as they're pretty and older than thirteen you like them. Only reason you haven't tried to make a move on me is because Luke keeps giving you the Evil Eye. Plus you know I could take you apart in ten seconds, easy," she said. That got Ash and May chuckling. An absol huffed and pushed the laughing duo off their rocks. "Oh Addie! Did you have to go and do that? You'll give absols a bad name!" Fremd 'scolded,' though the group could tell Fremd didn't care at all. The absol huffed again, then let out a stream of 'absol ab sol sol' that caused the Wild Guard to snort. "Ah sure, you sadistic wolf-dog. Okay, time for what I call my Miscellaneous Team, even though it's mostly dark types. You've got Addie the Absol, Sandy the Krookodile, Frogal the Greninja, Pam the Pangoro, Dixie the Houndoom, and Shinn the Shinx!" she said, pointing to the last members of her 'crew.' Ash was actually kind of impressed with her line up.

"You've got quite a few evolved pokemon, and a few rare ones at that," he said. Fremd sniffed.

"I don't care about how evolved they are or how rare they are. They choose to come with me, except Pam. I kind of didn't give her much of a choice. But regardless! They choose to stay by me, to fight with me, and I am grateful to them for that. I respect their strength, skill, determination, and if they chose to be loyal to me, then how could I not be loyal to them? Now, enough chit-chat out of you! It's time for training mister mister and I can guarantee you're going to feel it tomorrow!" she snapped, whipping a stream of aura at the Pokemon Trainer and eliciting a yelp.

/*/

That night, the group struggled to sleep through Ash's groans. Fremd hadn't been gentle as she endeavored to teach him how to defend himself if his pokemon weren't around. Meanwhile, the pokemon were having a meeting a little ways away. "So, Luke, what's this Fremd lady like?" Pikachu asked. Luke gave the little electric mouse a smile.

"Meema is a good human, not lazy like some. She specializes in fighting and fire types, though she has a team that's mostly dark types. She also has a few physic pokemon, though physic is a secondary typing, and Stacy, she's the Raichu. The one you should really ask is Blaze Fist. He was her starter," he said. They turned to the stoic fighting bird. He stared back, then sighed.

"Fremd is a complicated woman and has a lot of pain in her past. Despite this, she's good. Strong, fast, understanding, and doesn't force us to do things we'd really rather not. Oh she'll bully us into doing our training everyday, but she does it with a kind smile. Your Ash is in good, if a little rough, hands," the stately Blaziken said. Luke nodded.

"So... what do you mean strong? Is she strong like..."

"Unlike any of the trainers you have ever faced, little Torchik," Blaze Fist said, his sharp eyes boring into the little pre-evolution. "Fremd trains with us, fights us, teaches us different ways to use our abilities. She is a true fighting type trainer, and since she has learned aura manipulation, she has become even greater. She will make your trainer strong," Blaze Fist added.

"Yes. I believe she will even have him spar me, something she was unable to do properly before she trained her aura. Steel types are hard on humans," Luke said, though Pikachu though he looked a little sheepish.

"She did just fine when you were a Riolu, Luke. And she doesn't hold it against you. I have to hold back my fire typing when we spar, and even then, pokemon are generally sturdier than humans," Blaze Fist told his fellow pokemon. Luke gave him a smile.

"Thanks. Sometimes I forget."

"Hey! Noble brains! Did you forget the story of how she caught me?" a battle hardened heracross called, striding over with a rather displeased look on his face. How he managed that, only pokemon would know, and they can't explain. Luke seemed to flush a little at the reminder.

"No... but you were weaker then! And not a steel type!" the lucario rebutted. The heracross snorted.

"I'm Hector. Fremd caught me using only herself. Oh, and rocks. Man, even before aura training when she threw rocks, it felt like a Rock Throw attack. Now? Heh. Let's just say, it hurts. A lot." Pikachu looked over at the female human, who was perched on a rock and staring up at the sky, her face covered in shadow.

"She often do that?" he asked, nodding his head toward her. Luke sighed, shaking his head, before trotting off to his sleeping spot.

"Fremd is... a lonely person. She has us, yes, but there are those that she longs for. Those that she has lost. Her family is dead, and she cannot even visit their graves now. She looks to the stars and remembers, that Is all," Blaze Fist said, giving the other pokemon a sharp look. They took the hint and dropped the subject. They'd learn more as they traveled with her.

/*/

Fremd chuckled unrepentantly as Ash struggled to get up. "You telling me that after blowing up Team Rocket bases, fighting in multiple Leagues, traveling across three Regions, and saving a kingdom you can't handle a little cardiovascular exercise?" she asked. Ash glared at her. "Oh-ho! So he has some fire in him huh?! Nice. You're going to need that fire boyo, because we're going to keep doing those exercises every day until you can do them without thinking!" she said, a sadistic look entering her face. Ash groaned and fell back to the ground. Laughter rang out above him and he jerked up to see Fremd laughing happily. "Yeah, I know kid. But trust me, when we're done, you're going to be singing my praises!" she said, dragging him to his feet. They went through the same exercises as the day before, then took an hour for lunch before packing up(Ash doing most of the work) and heading out. Fremd kept the pace hard and fast, not allowing any of the group to rest for more than five minutes or use a pokemon for assistance. Except for Max. Ranj had the young boy on his back as he easily kept pace with his trainer.

"So you've been a lot of places, right?" asked Max. Fremd nodded, eyes still darting around. The world she was slowly coming to accept as hers might seem amazingly peaceful to many, but Fremd knew otherwise. You never escaped danger, the lurking trouble that sulked in the shadows and the back alleys.

"Yes. And I am curious as to why you are not in school," she answered, shooting a look over her shoulder at the boy.

"Well... year Four students in the pokemon class are tasked with following a trainer for a year to gain insight into the training methods that can be used for different pokemon. And..." Max continued to tell Fremd about the nuances of pokemon trainer school and Fremd continued to express her skepticism as to it's completeness and ability to prepare children for the harshness of the real world. All the while, Ash toiled along behind them. Until, that is, Fremd noticed he was lagging behind the entire group. Who weren't loaded down with packs because he had them all. And they were twenty steps behind her and Ranj. She clicked her tongue and Luke dropped from the trees, firing low powered aura spheres at the ground behind them. It was all the encouragement the children needed to catch up to their newest member.

"Ash, to become the best, you must surpass your own expectations, must press on when the world seems to be against you. Exhausted must become tired, worn out must become winded, scared must become concerned, friends must become comrades, trouble must become annoyances. The evil Teams and Syndicates and gangs must come to fear you, to tremble at your name. Children as young as three must know your name, five year olds must scream in delight when they see you coming, teens must want to grow up to be you. That! Is what it means to be the best, the greatest there ever was, the Pokemon Master. A legend. I will train you, but you must be willing to work hard, Mr. Ketchum. Hard enough to surpass me as a trainer and close range fighter, and to surpass your ancestor, Sir Aaron, as an Aura Guardian. Luke will assist you in the latter, but only after you have proven to me that you can at the very _least_ match me," she said, not even turning around. Ash huffed, but her words wouldn't leave his mind. Did she really think he could do it? Did she believe he could raise to the challenge? And that was what sealed it in his mind, even as her voice kept replaying in his mind. Ash Ketchum _never_ ran from a challenge, and he wasn't going to start now. He did his level best to pick up the pace.

'He took the bait,' Luke noted drily to his Meema. Fremd sent back a mental chuckle.

'Yes, hook, line, and sinker. Now for the rest of them.'

'Do try not to break them Meema. They are only human.'

'Then what does that make me Luke?'

'An extraordinary human touched by Arceus.'

'THAT DARN HORSE!'

" _Maybe I shouldn't have said that_..." Luke said aloud, though only Fremd and the other pokemon could have understood, and he had made sure he said it soft enough Fremd would have a hard time. Ash looked at him curiously while Pikachu chuckled, black eyes glinting with wicked glee. Oh he was gonna get it later, he was sure.

"As for you two..." Fremd began, then released Hector. May and Brock gulped. This didn't look promising. "You have no packs, so you should be able to go _faster_. Hector here is going to make sure you keep running until you reach the next town. Max, I'm sorry but it's time you got down, Ranj is going to help as well," Fremd said, holding out a hand to the boy. Max took it and slid from the back of the rapidash. "Ranj, when I say 'go' you canter to the next town. Hector will be making sure the red girl and the squinty boy keep pace with you, otherwise I would have let you go full out and gallop. Anyway, can you do that for me?" Ranj bobbed his head excitedly. He got to help Fremd! The one human he had ever known who could subdue a charging Tauros with her bare hands! "Ready, set... GO!" Fremd shouted, dropping her hand like a Nascar ref. Ranj broke out into a gallop and Hector sent out a low powered Pen Missile at the coordinator and breeder, sending them running. Fremd laughed as their screams drifted back to her.

"That's a canter?!" Max asked, shocked. Fremd's laughter increased, as did her own speed.

"Yep! You should see his gallop. Looks like he's flying on beds of fire. Though, I generally don't let him go all out on grasslands. Once was enough," she said, shivering as the memories of the plains fire and the apologetic Rangers. She might have been a great fighter, but she had still been training herself. And those Rangers had been experienced in wrangling pokemon. Not to mention they were cute. Not while mad of course, they were terrifying at the time, but she had seen them smile before and... yeah. Anyway, she glanced at Max and gave him a feral grin. "Since your school is full of idiots who don't care to prepare you adequately for life, I'm going to fix that while we travel. First up, how to survive in the wilderness! First lesson, what pants are safe for human consumption," she said. What followed was the longest and most in-depth lesson on plant life and fungi either boy had ever heard.

/*/

When Ash, Max, and Luke arrived at the next town, they were greeted by the worn out glares of May and Brock while Ranj and Hector seemed to be playing cards. Fremd laughed, Max was glad his sister was too worn out to move, and Ash just growled and flopped on top of them, moaning for them to budge over. The resulting tangle had Fremd on the floor, laughing herself silly. "Oh man! You lot have a lot of shaping up to do!" she said, grinning at the mess of bodies. Max shook his head at the mad woman and headed to their room. He was getting the first shower.

/?/

A/N: And there it is. The first chapter. Man this story sucks already. Go ahead and tell me just how much in the review box!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

A/N: It should be noted that in my version of the pokemon world, pokemon don't forget moves. As I see it, that was a game mechanic used because only four moves could be displayed on the screen without covering anything up and Game Freak didn't want to slow battles down by making players scroll down through all the moves their pokemon knew. I mean, look at bulbapedia, the movesets for pokemon like blaziken and charizard! If you had all those moves to choose from in the game, you'd have quite a bit of scroll time just getting to the move you wanted. Though, they could have made it so you had a move pool that you choose four 'battle moves' from. Then again, I don't know how much coding can fit on a cartridge and so am not sure how detailed they could make the game. But still, I think they could have made a way for us to use more of the cool moves pokemon could learn. So, my pokemon don't have to forget moves and don't need badges to use their moves outside of gym battles. (Yeah, I broke down and found a way to play a pokemon game. Unfortunately, I can't close the tab or I lose everything. I was playing firered, but I closed the tab right after I beat Misty. It was sad. So, now it's Ruby. Much better.) Wow! Long a/n. Don't worry, I'm done now.

 **Chapter 2** : Getting Started

Fremd was a patient woman. No really! She was! But there were somethings that went beyond the scope of her patience. And whining just so happened to be one of them. "Oh would you shut up! I'm tired of your griping! Man up and _do as I say!_ " she bellowed at the complaining Ash. They'd been running through their morning cardiovascular routine and Ash was distinctly _not happy_.

"You... are a slave driver," he muttered mutinously as he dragged himself back up. Fremd shook her head with a sigh.

"And you... are a wimp. Of course, so are most of the people around here, but that's another matter all together. Have you already forgotten what I told you yesterday? What you must do to truly be the best?" she replied. Fire lit in Ash's dark brown eyes and he growled, deep and low in his throat. Fremd chuckled. "Aye. That's the way. Do not bow, do not break. Now. Again!" she shouted, cracking the air with her switch. Ash continued his exercises... for ten minutes. Then he started sending childish curses toward Fremd. She ignored his words and watched him... for another five minutes before she clocked him on the head. They had been working for two hours, and it was only just seven o'clock. Fremd finally took pity on the lad and lead him to get breakfast. She only gave him thirty minutes before she put him back to the grindstone. They continued in this fashion, with vigorous endurance, stamina, and cardiovascular training in the morning followed by speed and balance in the afternoon and flexibility in the evenings, for three days before Fremd allowed Ash a day off to do as he wished, though she forbade him from challenging the gym. When he asked why, she grinned and said, "That's for tomorrow kiddo. And afterward is Trainer training, which will be a strain on the brain. So rest up!"

/*/

While Ash was having his day off, May, Brock, and Max were treated to Fremd's attentions. She set May and Brock to Ash's usual morning routine, and were loudly protesting it, while she taught Max more conventional knowledge. By lunch, May and Brock were ready to collapse, but Fremd was relentless and set them to Ash's speed drills after thirty minutes, her eagle eyes watching them while Max worked on math beside her. She didn't say anything, but Ash was better than the other two. She was mildly disappointed that May and Brock didn't seem to raise to the challenge quite as well, but pushed on. A hero was good on his own, but with a team at his back, he could be nigh on unstoppable. So, she'd train them too, so they could stand with him. Anyone else who decided to travel with Ash would also be subjected to her regime and if they left, their problem not hers. Ash didn't win his gym match. Normally, this would be depressing, but not the end of the world. This time, so totally the end of the world. Why? Fremd had been watching. And she had seemingly memorized the whole match! What Ash didn't know was that she had filmed it on her Pokenav and was watching it play out as she picked it apart. His performance in particular. After picking it apart and analyzing every move the gym leader made, how his style worked, how Ash's hadn't, and exactly _what went wrong_ , Fremd battled him the rest of the day. In the end, to say she was unhappy would be an understatement.

"Hey Ash! How ya doing?!" May called.

"I'm..."

"Pathetic," Fremd cut off. The two teens turned to her and shivered. Her face might as well have been carved from granite, her eyes from the bluest jade. "To think, you hold within you the potential to surpass me? Sir Aaron? Each and every trainer before you?! And what skill do you show? Randomly calling out attack names, making weird gaspy noises, and then glaring at your opponent when you lose and your pokemon ends up hurt. This is battling, Dickkopf. And in battle, injury is basically a given. If you come out of a battle without a mark, you're one of two things: really strong or a coward." Ash glared at her and Fremd fought back a smirk as she saw the fire flare in his eyes, the same fire she knew to lit her own when confronted with a challenge. "As of now, I'm instituting a new rule for your training. Aside from guiding your comrades in battle, you are to make no noise," she said before cracking the air with her switch once more. "Now, run the gauntlet again!" Ash moaned and got a lash from the willow switch. "And no noises!" As Ash ran off, Fremd turned to the other two. "Follow. I'll not have you being lazy sacks of potatoes!" she snarled. As May and Brock trotted off to join Ash in his training, Fremd turned to Max and continued his schooling.

/*/

They'd been traveling and training for two weeks when Fremd said, "Alright you guys, you get two days off. Use them well," before vanishing. Ash stared after her, mildly shocked, before her head popped back out of the brush. "Oh and, that means you can talk again, Dickkopf. Have fun with your friends and the pokemon!" As soon as she was done, she was gone again. Ash shook his head, but let all his pokemon out.

"Well, Fremd just up and gave me two full days completely off, so lets make the best of it!" he said exuberantly, then winced. He hadn't been speaking much the past three weeks, so shouting was obviously going to be a no-go for the time being. May and Brock shrugged and let their pokemon out as well. They spent the rest of the day talking about nothing and just chilling with their pokemon. Fremd, however, was not chilling.

"Now what was it you called me out for, Lance? I was in the middle of training!" she snarled at her PokeNav, the leader of the G-Men displayed on it. Lance had the good grace to look sheepish in the face of her disgruntlment.

"Sorry Fremd, but this is serious. Team Rocket has moved into Hoenn. I know it's your home region, and you're there right now, so I was hoping..."

"Got a base location?" Fremd asked, resigned to being the G-Men's go-to trainer in the area. Lance gave her a wry smile.

"Middle of the Petalburg Forest," he said. Fremd's face went dark. She knew what was hidden in that forest, had been entrusted with it's secret only a few months into her mission by the pokemon of the forest. She couldn't leave the Rockets in the woods, likely only a few dozen feet from that marvelous Glade.

"So, I'm going back to that forest huh?" she muttered darkly. Oh yes, she had some problems with that forest. She distinctly remembered cursing Arceus, Dialga, and rain in that forest. Arceus because he made it rain, Dialga because time wouldn't move fast enough, and rain because it got _everywhere!_ Oh you may think she would have been cursing sand and grit in the plains and mountains, but the rain in the forest... oh, how she detested it. Lance didn't know what to make of her reaction.

"If you would, I'd be grateful. If there's anything you need, just call. It may be slow, but I'll see to it you get it, okay?" he said. Fremd gave him a smile.

"Ten four ol' buddy. Don't worry, I just remember being in that forest, slaving over a project for Birch and getting caught in a week long rainstorm with only a tarp. Good time," she said, obviously sarcastic at the end. Lance sighed, bemused by Fremd's antics.

"I understand. Well, I really appreciate this Fremd. Oh! And tell Luke Dragonite is looking forward to that rematch," he said. Fremd just grinned a shark-like grin. "Oh course. Lance out!" The screen went dark and Fremd sighed, then looked to the sky.

"Any of you legendaries get it in your heads to rain on me, I _will_ find you. And I will _make you_ _hurt._ "

/*/

Legendary pokemon the world over felt a chill go down their spines. Those who could effect the weather felt as though they had been plunged into an ice bath and then sand blasted. "Fremd's making threats again. Better see where she is so I don't go there," most of them thought and those who could, went to the Hall of Origins. "Hey dad!" called Articuno. Arceus sighed.

"Fremd's in Hoenn, headed toward Petalburg Forest by way of Littleroot Town, coming from the Kanto port. And yes, she just said if any of us make it rain on her she will find us and make us hurt. Please, spread the word," the tired deity pokemon said. Articuno nodded and did as his father asked, those within earshot of Arceus doing the same. Soon, all the legendaries knew where and why to avoid Fremd. Several other legendaries breathed a sigh of relief. The Great One wasn't after them.

/*/

Fremd turned and went off to find a nice shady spot. That found, she called out Leo. He looked around for signs of trouble, then rumbled in his throat and curled up around Fremd, giving her a solid, warm, backrest. Fremd chuckled and began carding her fingers through his rich fur. "Hey Leo. What do you think of this? No fighting, no screaming, no rain, small rocks, and a sweet breeze. Nice huh?" she asked the pyroar softly. Leo gave his best purr and leaned his head into her hand. Fremd chuckled again and redoubled her efforts at finger grooming him. They sat there for hours, even watched the sun set, before Fremd let Addie and Dixie out and set them on guard duty. The next morning, Ash went looking for his teacher. He froze when he saw her, fast asleep curled up against her pyroar with his tail draped atop her and her houndoom standing guard. He bowed to the large canine and backed away... then whipped out a camera and snapped a picture of the heartwarming scene and fleeing. "Hey guys! I found Fremd, but you should see _how_ I found her!" he called to his friends. May, Max, and Brock all came and gathered around while Ash paged through until he reached the newest picture. The other three gaped at the simple, sweet, moment between rough and tumble trainer and large, dangerous pokemon.

"Oh! How sweet! Her pokemon really care about her, don't they?" May said. Max nodded. Out of all of them, he had the clearest idea of how Fremd's pokemon saw her, and what he had was staggering to say the least. He was fairly sure each and every one of her formidable pokemon would give their lives for her, if it meant she'd live. They followed her direction without question, anticipated her needs and desires, and simply adored spending time with her. Half an hour later, Fremd entered their clearing.

"One last free day before we head for Petalburg Forest, and you're sitting here staring at each other? Come on! Play a little! Here, I'll show you how it's done. Addie!" she said, rolling her eyes at their blank looks. Addie bound out of the forest and bore down on her trainer happily. Fremd laughed and caught the speeding canine. The two then proceeded to wrestle in the grass, snarling and yipping playfully. Dixie and Leo heard and came running to join the fun. Ash and the others shrugged and called out their own pokemon to play with. The whole group spent the rest of the day playing with their pokemon, though Fremd took care to have them all carefully groom the pokemon before they went to bed that night.

/*/

"Alright! We're headed out for my hometown now! No wisecracks about how small it is, the woods surrounding it can be dangerous. It's where I caught Stacy and Hector after all," Fremd said, giving Brock a Look. He gave a 'why me?' shrug, but said nothing. Soon, they were on their way, none of them saying a thing. Leo padded along beside Fremd while Polly soared above them, occasionally spitting embers at zigzagoon hiding in the grass. Ash was back to enforced silence and all of them were being worked hard by Fremd, whom they had come to 'affectionately' call The Slave Driver. She made no effort toward hiding the fact that this amused her. Of course, her amusement at their nickname for her just made the gang more upset. Fremd whistled as they walked, rubbing Leo's head and smiling as Luke dashed through the trees beside them. They made good time to Littleroot Town, likely because Fremd set Hector and Ranj on the whole lot of them. Max, however, she paced herself, though he was still running the whole way. When they arrived, they stayed with a friend of Fremd's.

"Fremd! Hey!" yelled a young man, about twenty-six, with short silver hair that he wore spiked up. He wore a dark gray jacket with black shoulders, dark brown pants, and heavy hiking boots. Ash though he looked like one of those extreme spot types, though his hands were scarred much like Fremd's. Brock wondered if he was an old sparring partner. He was about five foot even, which would be a good height for it. Fremd smiled at the man.

"Hey yourself, Brad. I didn't know you were back in town!" she said, catching his hand as he came in. He laughed, May and Max watching in shock. Brad was one of the better known trainers in Hoenn and had traveled with their father a few years back. Norman had once told his children how Brad had saved his life without the aid of pokemon, and seeing the man up close, May and Max could believe it.

"You know Brad?" May asked. Fremd chuckled.

"Sure do! He was a friend of your father's, who I ran into not long after becoming a trainer probably only a few months before you were born. When he heard about me, who had captured a heracross without the aid of a pokemon, he set out to find me. He did, we battled, I beat him, he swore to one day best me, and we kept in sporadic contact. He and I are more like rivals while your father and I are almost friends. Brad kept finding me though, so... yeah. What, Norman never told you about the crazy trainer who beat him with an improvised Take Down?" she answered, giving May a curious look. Brad laughed.

"Oh yeah! That's one of Norman's favorite stories right there! He couldn't believe you caught that heracross with only your own strength and a few rocks!" the man boomed. Fremd winced.

"Loud noises, Brad," she hissed. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, violet eyes close to closing.

"Right. Sorry. So... how long you in town for?" he asked. Fremd shrugged.

"A day or two. I'm headed to Petalburg Forest. I hear there are a few... _unsavory_ characters hanging out there. Can't have that now can we?" she gave her rival a shrewd look. "On second thought... can I leave my students with you for that day or two while I head on out? They're getting better, and have some experience with these mooks, but this is... _personal_ ," she asked. Brad nodded seriously.

"Unsavory characters are unwanted. Sure, I'll look after the kids. Mind if I train 'em a bit?" Fremd grinned at Brad's answer.

"Knock yourself out Brad. Oh but, don't let the black haired kid, Dickkopf, talk. He makes too much noise during his battles... or he did before I enforced silence outside of battle instructions. And go easy on Max. Other than that... go ahead and run the lot ragged. I should be back in two days. Three if the idiots in the forest are tougher than the last batch I had to deal with," she said, then jumped straight up and landed on Polly's back. "Be good kiddies!" she called down before vanishing into the distance. Ash sighed. So much for another day off.

/*/

'Meema... are you sure of this?' Luke asked. Fremd grinned a savage grin as she readied the huge shopping bag of cherry bombs.

"Oh yes, my son. This one of my favorites. Okay! CH-CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB!" Fremd sang out, and lobbed the bag into the sky, Luke used aura to cut it open at height, and Polly used Ember to light the hundreds of fuses as the tiny bombs rained down on the Rocket base. "Yes! Perfect, as always," Fremd said smugly as Rocket Grunts swarmed out of the base like the mindless worker drones they were. Fremd tugged on the reenforced biker gloves she wore, modified by the artisans of Rota to channel aura, and jumped down into the fray, knocking all the grunts out with punches to the temple then retreating to the brush again. Luke shook his head at his chuckling Meema as Rocket 'first responders' came and took the knocked out grunts away. "Ah-hahahaha! Predictable as always! Dai, Hector, Polly, Addie, pick 'em off!" Fremd ordered. Her pokemon leapt to obey, the medics dropped where they stood. Luke sighed. Once his Meema got started on something, she didn't stop until it was done. This particular trait was why she had been caught in a rain storm for a week and didn't turn around and go back to town until it cleared up.

" _The medics have been neutralized. Shall we move in?_ " Mike asked via telepathy. Fremd nodded.

"Fighting Team! Move in! Dark Team! Fire Team! Seal the perimeter! No-body gets in or out! Knock out only! I don't want to have their blood on my hands... or deal with the paper work if you put an officer out of a job!" she barked. Her teams nodded, the Fire and Dark teams spreading out to close off the base while the Fighting Team formed up around their General. "Okay boys and lady, let's bust this joint!" Fremd cheered. Stacy chirped while Blaze cracked his knuckles.

" _Finally! I get in on the action!_ " he growled. Fremd chuckled.

"Ever since you evolved into a cumbusken you've been spoiling for a fight. It's a wonder how anyone can see you as a stoic type," she said quietly as they ghosted into the building.

" _I'm a bird of many talents. Hiding my battle lust is one of them. Goon on your right,_ " Blaze replied. Fremd chuckled even as she dropped the grunt with a boot to the head.

"Ah, so nice to finally know one of your many secrets you silly bird," she said, smiling fondly at her starter. Blaze snorted and dropped another grunt with a High Kick.

" _Oi! Happy couple! More fighting less flirting!_ " Hector churred, knocking some guy with a big R on his chest through a flimsy wall. Fremd rolled her eyes while Blaze lived up to his name and sent a Blazing Fist into his comrades faceplate.

" _Don't forget I have the type advantage, Bug Boy,_ " he growled, fist still blazing. Mike physically flung them down two different hallways.

" _Enough bickering! We have a job to do! Instead of fighting each other, destroy the base and knock out some idiot humans!_ " the irritated physic/fighter mentally reprimanded. Fremd spared a moment to nod in his direction, grateful that he had broken up the little spat the two eager fighters had digressed to. Mike sent back an answering nod before he used Physic and caught five fleeing grunts. Tox dashed in and put them out with quick jabs to the torso. They were going to have some serious stomach aches when they woke up.

/*/

While Fremd was beating up Rocket Grunts in a forest they really shouldn't have been in, Ash and his friends were being run as ragged by Brad as they ever were by Fremd. Though, Brad put more emphasis on pokemon training than physical training. And he liked status moves. A lot. So, Ash and his friends were being taught how to use status moves effectively and how to overcome them. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! I HATE SLEEP POWER! WHERES A CHERI BERRY WHEN YOU NEED ONE!?" May screamed. Ash winced, Max sighed, and Brock nodded sagely.

"Sleep power is indeed a worthy opponent, and awakening items are irritating in their elusiveness. Yes, this is the reality of our world," the Pewter Gym leader said in a deep, philosophical voice. Ash sweatdropped(a/n: I know, rude, but... can anyone give me a name for that feeling? I know _exactly_ what that feeling would feel like, but I don't have a real name for it. Help a girl out? Thanks. Back to the story). He _really_ wanted to groan out Brock's name, but Brad was just as strict as Fremd about the no-noise thing. "CURSE YOU FREMD!"

/*/

Fremd's grin became more bloodthirsty and Stacy sighed. Someone had just cursed her name. Stacy didn't know why, and neither did the other pokemon that traveled and fought with Fremd, but Fremd got a thrill out of leaving people screaming. Oh she wasn't a nasty person, not really, but there was something about making someone scream in frustration that made the woman giddy. Stacy's berries were on May for this one. Man could that girl scream! Oh look! A sneaky fool! A quick Thundershock and he was out for the count! Oh, how she loved her job! Fremd noticed the light of the Thundershock behind her and chuckled. A raichu who wasn't attacking should have at least given the fool pause, but no. He had to try sneaking up on the trainer who had a raichu. And a heracross. And a lucario. And a toxicroak. And a medicham. And a blaziken. Of course, the heracross and blaziken were off causing mayhem and destruction elsewhere, but that was beside the point. Fremd finished planting the charge then sent the aura message. 'Get the idiots out, it's about to go up.' Quickly, the team gathered up the fainted grunts and their pokemon, bundling them outside before Fremd pressed the switch and the base blew sky high.

/*/

When the G-Men arrived, they were stopped by Fremd's pokemon, half her Dark Team to be exact. One of them ran off for Dei, one of the only pokemon who could communicate with the G-Men. " _Greetings, G-Men. Fremd is currently taking advantage of the large rocks she just blew all about this clearing. I would advise hailing her before proceeding forward,_ " the deceptively docile looking delfox mentally relayed. Lance sighed, but pulled out his pokenav and hailed Fremd.

"What?! I was finally getting some good training in!" Fremd's grumpy voice called out from the device.

"My men and I are here for clean up and detainment," Lance said. Fremd sighed.

"And they made such wonderful squeaky noises too," she pouted. Lance sighed again. Even though he had worked with the woman multiple times before now, she never failed to make him question her sanity. Dei, Addie, Dixie, and Pam moved out of the way and Lance nodded to them on his way past, shivering slightly at the way Addie's eyes followed him. Absols _still_ gave him the creeps. And Addie never passed up a chance to see him twitch. He was sure Fremd put her up to it... at least the first time. After that, he was sure it was pure absol sadism. This of course completely ignored the fact that absols appeared before natural disasters in order to warn those in said disaster's path. But then, fear is rarely ever rational.

"Fremd," Lance greeted.

"Lance," Fremd smiled, dirty blood and grit all over her face making it a rather frightening look.

"I see you blew it up," Lance remarked drily. Fremd shrugged.

"I made sure I reached the computer banks and wired the information over to G HQ. You should have complete copies of every computer in there. I didn't go in _blind_ you know. The file transfer should have finished right before we entered the base. Why do you think I left the kids with Brad for two days?" she said, not really looking all that bothered by Lance's mild criticism. The Kanto champion sighed.

"Fine. Well, thank you ofr taking care of this. I know it took time out of your schedule and this was kind of out of your way," he said. Fremd waved it off.

"No big deal. I should be thanking you for the job. My Fighting Team was getting antsy and my Dark Team needed a run-around. Blaze and Hector were so jumped up they stared fighting each other! So yeah, we needed this. Now, can I get a shower before heading back to Littleroot Town? Don't want to scare the kiddies," she said. Lance sighed, but lead her toward Rustboro City.

"Who are these kiddies you keep talking of?" he asked as they walked.

"Ash Ketchum, May, her brother Max, and Brock of Pewter City," Fremd answered. Lance blinked.

"You're traveling with that group?" he asked. Fremd nodded.

"Remember when we met?"

"How could I forget?"

"Ash is the one." Lance stopped mid stride.

"Ash?" he asked, confused. Fremd nodded.

"Yes. Ash is my student. He's a bit rough around the edges, and he made far too much noise before, but he has potential. He's already put a stop to quite a few nefarious deeds throughout Kanto, Johto, the Orange Islands, and parts of Hoenn, right? So is it really so hard to believe that he is my student? The one I had been searching for so diligently? Really Lance," Fremd began walking again, "one would think you're short sighted, talking like that." Lance jogged to catch up to the woman who caused so many headaches even as she solved problems.

"Fremd! You can't just drop on me that the student you'd been looking for was only six when we first met! That's crazy!" he said. Fremd shook her head.

"No, it's not. Really! I met a lot of young trainers early in my career, and for years after, but none of them held the same spark." She stopped and face the frazzled Lance. "He can use aura, Lance. It's what I've been looking for in a student. Aura, the power many believe beyond human manipulation. Aura, that legendary ability that sets Rota apart from the world. Lance... I've found the one boy who could be Sir Aaron's second coming! I can feel the hidden power, trapped inside him. He used it to save the Tree of Beginning in Rota, and the Mew who inhabits it. I could not let him continue on as he had been! He _needed_ to be trained, and I am the only one who can," she said, looking intently into Lance's eyes. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Fine. If he has aura... the world might just need a trained aura guardian. And if his aura is as strong as you say it is..."

"It is," Fremd insisted.

"Then there's nothing I can do to stop you. Heck, there's never anything I can do to stop you! But... this time... I'll accept it. Now go get your shower. You stink of blood and fear," Lance said, waving her off. Fremd laughed but departed and took a much needed shower, washing her clothes in the complementary washer at the pokemon center.

/*/

Brad was tired when Fremd got in that night. She took one look at him and dragged him outside. "I find the best way to relax is sleeping outside on a clear night while curled up against one of your pokemon," she said, calling out Leo. Brad smiled and called out his mightyena.

"Yeah, you're right. It does help. So... how long have you been training these kids?" Brad said. Fremd sighed and looked to the stars before answering. The two spent the rest of the night there, talking, catching up, and finally sitting in companionable silence before being claimed by sleep, their pokemon making sure they were safe.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Fremd and the nicknames used.

 **Chapter 3:** Pokenav Log

Ash was the first to wake up. He yawned and stretched, then got up and went out the back door. Without even thinking, he started the cardio routine Fremd had him doing all the time. Fremd woke up and crept over to the side of the house, Leo trailing after. She watched Ash go through his exercises with a smirk. "I told you we'd do those exercises until you could do them without thinking," Fremd said smugly. Ash jumped slightly and turned, bringing his hands up into a guard position. Fremd's eyes narrowed. "Soon, Dickkopf, soon. But you're not ready yet," she dismissed, then set him back to doing what he already knew he should be doing for the rest of the day.

/*/

 _May 10_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _It has been a month since I began training Ash Ketchum. He claims I am demanding too much of him, though he is improving. Three hours of cardio in the morning, before breakfast, with five minute breaks between each hour, isn't bad, right? And then five hours of speed and balance before lunch, with the same break system, isn't going to kill him. And I make sure we stretch out well each night, and each muscle group too! Really, the boy will be thanking me for this, once he realizes what it is doing, or has done. I think, in another month or so, I will be putting a few strength exercises after the first two hours of his cardio exercises and add hand-to-hand to his speed and balance routine. Though, if he surpasses my expectations, I will move that time table up. First though, the basics. Without a foundation, nothing can stand._

/*/

Fremd finished her PokeNav entry and looked toward her sleeping pupil. His enforced silence was now carrying over to when he slept, though no-one was complaining about that. Ash had problems keeping his mouth shut even in sleep! "You've done well with him, Fremd," Brad said. She sighed.

"He's a handful, no way around that, but yeah. I guess I have done pretty good by him," she said, a soft smile coming to her face. Brad blushed and turned away. He'd never told her, but part of the reason he tracked her down so often was because he had something of a crush on her. The first time she beat him, it was as if she had a Cute Charm ability that made him fall in love. And it still hadn't worn off. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. Fremd sighed and leaned back, unknowingly resting against the still blushing Brad. "Thanks for keeping the kids for me," she said softly. Brad swallowed, beating down fantasies.

"No problem. They're good kids," he said, and was rather pleased with himself for sounding as though he were just a good friend. Fremd smirked, feeling the heat coming off her 'rival.' Oh, she knew of his crush, and she enjoyed teasing the man, though she never let him know she was teasing him. That would ruin the fun.

"Umm... out of curiosity, what did you teach them? I know you're not a fighting type," she said. Brad grinned savagely.

"Status moves. The girl was especially fun to abuse," he answered. Fremd chuckled darkly. This was a side of Brad she could appreciate. Oh he was kind, compassionate, could be understand when he had a mind to be, and knew how to take care of his pokemon, but he was a battler and battlers had a certain sadistic quality to them. Fremd called it battlelust, just to be kinder.

"Did she curse me?" Fremd asked. Brad chuckled.

"Sure did. You knew, didn't you?"

"Yeah, and the grunt I was facing got an extra does of fear from my bloodthirsty grin," Fremd answered. Bard chuckled again and drew her into the yard, his mightyena padding over, pleased that her trainer was going to spend the night with her again. Fremd sighed as she leaned into the solid warmth of Leo, her other pokemon, that could fit, gathering around as well.

"Tell me, how did your raid go?" Brad asked. Fremd sighed.

"Wondrously. My Teams performed perfectly, as always. It was actually a welcome release. And it wasn't a raid. It was a rout with a side order of destruction," she said. Brad hummed, looking up at the stars.

"Play-by-play?" he asked. Fremd chuckled and launched into the tale. Brad didn't speak, only made appropriate noises at the right time, and he didn't look at her. He just closed his eyes and smiled softly. Another thing Fremd liked about him. When she was done, Brad nodded. "Typical Fremd. Can't do anything the normal way, can you?" he asked with a gentle smile. There, under the stars, leaning against his faithful pokemon, hair gleaming silver in the night, and giving her that smile... Fremd could honestly say Brad was handsome. And that she was attracted to him as well. He wasn't like other people, for all that he lived like them. He shared the same spark that Fremd did, or as close as possible for those without aura.

"Thanks for listening Brad," she said, laying her head on his legs. Leo gave the man the evil eye, then laid his head on mightyena's back, one large eye still fixed on Brad. Mightyena huffed, but curled her head around her trainer, inviting him to lay down. Brad couldn't move. His face was bright red as he looked down at the clean brown hair spilling over his legs, the rosebud lips slightly parted as warm breath blew gently out. He gulped. They looked like a couple or... or... _lovers_. That thought tore it. He fainted, mightyena catching his head with hers while Leo used his tail to make sure Fremd wasn't disturbed. The two shared a look, rolled their eyes, and went to sleep.

/*/

 _May 11_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Brad is surprisingly cute when he sleeps. I know I know, strange way to start the entry, but really! He is! Especially when he's all curled up with that mightyena of his. And the look on his face when he realized I was still on his legs! HA! Oh, okay, better explain for whoever reads this. Last night Brad took me outside to talk and we curled up against Leo and mightyena and he asked about my 'raid' two days before so I told him and then I noticed how handsome he was and decided to take my teasing to the next level and laid down on his legs. They were surprisingly comfortable, so I fell asleep. Then Brad fell asleep, or rather, stared at me in shock then pulled a Hinata and fainted with a beet red face. We woke up with his head on mightyena, my head on his legs, and Leo's tail curled around the both of us. So there ya go. The rest of the day was getting ready to head back out and Dickkopf giving me this really pouty look. Man, even without words the kid can complain. Ah well, we're back on the road now, so no problems. Addie's turn to be a pillow!_

/*/

 _May 12_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Dickkopf is progressing nicely, Brock is showing great promise as a pokemon field medic, Max is a smart cookie, and May is now on the same silence training as Dickkopf. Man does that girl have a set of pipes!_

/*/

 _May 14_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _We were besieged yesterday. Someone put out that I stopped Team Rocket's advance into Petalburg Forest the other day and reporters somehow found us. Darn vultures, the lot of them. We spent the whole day running from the houndooms! Today too, come to think of it. They gave up two hours ago. If Ash and May were allowed, they'd be complaining about sore calves. Phe. That's what all this conditioning is for silly kids!_

/*/

 _May 15_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Kids are annoying, rain is bothersome, legendaries are irritating, Arceus is aggravating, but reporters top them all. Oh yes, reporters top them all._

/*/

 _May 16_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _I'm going to find out who set these houndoom on me and when I do..._

/*/

 _May 18_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Satisfaction. Yes, I found the idiot who set the reporters on me. It was Lance. He is now cursing my name in the hospital. I regret nothing._

/*/

 _May 21_ _st_ _, 2008._

 _Ash found my journal yesterday. It freaked him out. Not what was in it so much as that I had one. He only got at the Kanto entries though. Whew. Also, he said I needed to work on my communication skills. Psha! I was the only one who was going to be reading this silly thing! Still, now he's watching me like a talonflame. I already have one of those! I don't need another! Crazy kid._

/*/

 _May 22_ _nd_ _, 2008._

 _Harsher training is needed. Stupid kid stole my pokenav and showed the other brats. Luckily, they still didn't see my early entries. That would have seriously freaked them out. Though, they did find a few where I threatened Arceus. I wish they hadn't. Now they won't stop looking at me as though I'm going to die. Maybe if I leave it out with the entry about how I busted into the Hall of Origins and whupped all them legendaries they'll stop? Hum... an experiment for another time. For now... *evil laughter is evil.*_

/*/

 _May 23_ _rd_ _, 2008._

 _The lesson has been learned. My pokenav is safe. As is the rest of my stuff. Foolish foolish children, reading what isn't theirs. It could have freaked them out more than thinking Arceus was going to strike me down or that I had been hit in the head too many times. Like my first three entries for example. I wasn't too careful with my words in those. Ash could have flipped his lid. Training for all of us continues as usual._

/*/

 _May 30_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Brock asked me to tell them something of myself tonight. When I asked him what he wanted to hear, he asked about how I met Brad. I looked back in my entries, and I realized I hadn't written the story in my pokenav. So, I related it to them as I remembered it and shall record that version in this entry._

 _I had been wandering around in the mountains of Unova for months when out of the blue, a young man appeared. He was of average height and wearing a dark blue coat with black shoulders, black pants, brown hiking boots, and what I could only call a utility belt. That wasn't what struck me though. No. It was his hair. It was striking silver, like Kakashi(ah. Character from an anime I liked to watch when I was younger.) only it was shorter. He even wore a head band! Though, it was dark green rather than blue and had a pokeball rather than an engraved leaf. He stepped right up to me and said, 'I heard from Norman that you were something else. So I challenge you to see for myself what you've got!' So, I pulled out Blaze Fist, because I really couldn't be bothered, and battled him. I swept his whole team with Blaze. 'Wow. Norman wasn't kidding when he said you were strong! But... he said you used a heracross against him.'_

 _'I couldn't be bothered to switch out. I was kind of in the middle of a hunt, actually,' I told him._

 _'What are you hunting?' he asked. I smiled._

 _'Sandile. I hear there's a feisty one around here that's causing a bit of trouble,' I told him. He nodded and said he'd help. While we searched, he told me about how he'd heard of me from Norman, and how the man's daughter had been born, back in Johto, not long after I saw him. I nodded and told him of how my project for Birch was progressing in return. He commiserated with me for a time, ten left for his own journey, though I have a feeling if I had been open to the idea he would have continued to travel with me. Instead, he became a rival and kept seeking me out for battles. Those battles helped my pokemon get stronger faster than they would have otherwise, so I always thanked him for the battle._

 _The group seemed to like the story._

/*/

 _June 2nd, 2008._

 _Dickkopf is starting to give me the pleading eyes. I said three months, not one! But... he has progressed faster than I expected. His training regime shall be modified. In other news... SKITTY! SKITTY EVERYWHERE!_

/*/

 _June 3rd, 2008._

 _I am beginning to reconsider my limit for pokemon. Skitty are so soft and cuddly! I wonder if Dickkopf will capture one and let me play with it..._

/*/

 _June 4th, 2008._

 _It seems Ash picked up on my desire to have a skitty around to cuddle with. He captured one, let it out of the pokeball, and put it in my arms. Ash has earned a day off._

/*/

 _June 5th, 2008._

 _Brock is an idiot. I would not be surprised if he had brain damage from all the times he's been knocked out for flirting. Honestly, if he didn't make such a spectacle of himself we wouldn't keep beating him up all the time! Besides, there are girls we actually approve of him flirting with. Just... keep it classy mate. No need to jump off a cliff or anything._

/*/

 _June 6th, 2008._

 _I had almost forgotten James and Jessie. They finally caught up with us. I defeated them with the most terrible weapon I have. Logic. We left them blinking on the roadside, looking like they got hit by Confusion. Poor poor grunts. In other news... skitty is now Skittles! I like skittles. TASTE THE RAINBOW!_

/*/

 _June 7th, 2008._

 _Team Magma is acting up again. Idiots. Though, this time... I think I'll bring Ash with me. He's been a good boy lately, so a field trip doesn't sound too out of line._

/*/

 _June 12th, 2008._

 _I. Am. Never. Taking. Dickkopf. On. Another. Field trip. AGAIN! Not until he grows out of the nickname. He gained another nickname too. Hot head. Crazy idiot jumped the gun and nearly got us caught! S'mores privileges have been revoked for the week. Skittles is all too happy to clean them up for him. Who knew skitty liked chocolate and marshmallows?_

/*/

 _June 13th, 2008._

 _Dickkopf has asked forgiveness. Request denied._

/*/

 _June 14th, 2008._

 _Dropping this brat on his rump is very satisfying. I wonder if I should force the others to join as well? Hum... decisions decisions..._

/*/

 _June 15th, 2008._

 _Brock made up my mind today. There are no words to describe what he did. He has joined me and Dickkopf for hand-to-hand training. Brock shall cry by week's end. I'm using aura. Heehee, I'm evil._

/*/

 _June 17th, 2008._

 _Success! Brock has cried. Oh, and Jessie and James popped back up. Seems they've snapped out of their confusion. James decided to quit but hasn't faked his death yet, Jessie's indecisive, and Meowth just doesn't know. Poor guys. Honestly, they could be doing much more productive things than serving Team Rocket. Giovanni doesn't even want a pikachu! I broke him of any such desire. Stacy is a good girl, yes she is!_

/*/

 _June 18th, 2008._

 _Dickkopf somehow saw my last entry and got Brock to ask me about it. So, I had to tell them the story. Refer to Log 5, entry 22. A riveting story to be sure. They were all staring at me with gaping mouths. Ah, I shall treasure the picture forever. No really, I took a picture of it. Too good to pass up._

/*/

It was June 23rd, and Fremd had given the group a whole week completely off, which meant Ash and May could talk for the week. The favored topic was Fremd and how she was crazy. Their support for this statement? She threatened Arecus. She threatened the Creation Dragons. She threatened... all the legendary pokemon! She cursed rain, _rain of all things!_ She had several nonsensical entries in her pokenav. She laughed at their pain. How she mentally scared Giovanni with a pikachu. How she cackled at it. How happy she was to rout Team Magma. Brock's tears made her grin. Some of these may be the hallmarks of a sadist, but in their mind, sadists were crazy, so it worked. As for the woman in question, she was having fun running and wrestling with her pokemon. It was her version of training, and she enjoyed it.

/?/

A/N: Yeah, I put in some romance. Please don't kill me! I promise the romance will be light! Let me know what you thought of Brad. In other news, hunting male ralts is aggravating, but it's worse if all you have are male pokemon. I didn't get a male ralts until I had a female ralts on my team. So, now I have a Gwen and a Gallahad. I is happy.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Pokemon. Not even merchandise.

A/N: I'm new to this still, even if I've beaten the first four gyms in Pokemon Ruby. Man I wish they didn't have to forget moves to learn new ones! A bigger move pool would be so nice! I guess that's where multiples of the some species comes in. But man is it annoying! If they came out with a PS or Xbox Pokemon game, I sure hope they let you use more than four possible moves! If I had designed it, I'd at least have tried to give the player more variety. Ah well, I'm not Game Freak so, I have no control over these things. Okay, rant about game mechanics over. I'm thinking of writing a Log series for Fremd. Like, who she met and how; especially Lance and Giovanni. Let me know what you think of the idea in a review! **Also** : sorry if this chapter is choppy or otherwise odd. Not too sure how to handle the actual training, especially with aura. Let me know how you thought it turned out!

 **Chapter 4:** The Beginning of Aura

It had been a long hard haul, but finally, finally _,_ Fremd didn't call him pathetic any more. Ash was ecstatic. He could last more than two minutes against his teacher, he could move silently, he was winning more battles, and Fremd wasn't glaring at him all the time! Then, on October 31st, 2008, Fremd threw a new wrench into his happiness. Aura training. "You have to feel it, Ash. The warmth inside you, that part of you that drives you, that gives you life! Think back to what you felt in Rota. Try to feel it flow around you, through you, then draw it forward, into your palm," Fremd instructed. Ash tried, he really did, but without the gloves, it was hard. When he saved the Tree and Mew, it had all been instinctive. Trying to do it on purpose... that was a whole other thing! Still, he wanted this. He searched again for the warm, rushing river he had felt when he used his aura to save Rota. He sat completely still, completely silent, and then... he felt it! He was surprised, but didn't let go. He tilted his head and 'examined' his aura. It was indeed warm. And blue. And powerful. And waiting, almost expectant. He reached for it, slowly, like one would a spooked ponyta. Little by little, he got closer to it. And then, he started to coax it forward, through his body into his hand. Fremd smirked as she saw the slight glow around his hand. "Good work Ash! You called forth your aura! Now, let it go." Let it go? After all that searching for it!? Still, Ash followed her instructions and let it go. "Good. Now, call it back." WHAT!? Ash grimaced, but did as she asked. He found it easier that time. It only took him ten minutes. "Good. Now, repeat this process seven more times and we'll call it a day," Fremd said. Ash's eyes snapped open. "One step at a time Ash. Learn to call your aura forward, then we'll work on holding it, then shape it, and _then_ use it in battle. Foundations, Ash, they're important," Fremd said. Ash sighed, but nodded, closed his eyes, and began reaching for his aura once again.

/*/

While Ash was training to draw forth his aura, Fremd focused on training the other three how to defend themselves if they didn't have a pokemon handy, or well enough to help. Brock remembered his first week vividly, and was surprised when Fremd didn't work him so hard. She noticed and chuckled. "I was mad at you, Brock. That's why I was hard on you. Now, however, I don't want to 'teach you a lesson.' I just want to make sure you can protect yourself. And I'm not using aura to augment my attacks," she said. May gaped.

"You mean... that's how you could hit so hard?" Brock asked, rubbing at a phantom pain. Fremd nodded.

"I'll admit, I'm surprised you didn't cry sooner than the end of the week. I held back from breaking your bones, but I did bruise quite a few. You notice I stopped as soon as you cried, didn't you?"

"That... that was all you wanted?"

"Yep. Now, block!" Fremd answered and swung a wild hook-fist at his face. Brock swiftly brought his arm up and caught the strike, noticing that it wasn't as punishing a hit as before. May and Max shook their heads. Yep. Their teacher was a sadist. Fremd shook her head as well, though she continued to instruct them. Secretly, she smirked. They were learning. Oh they didn't notice, but they ever getting better strike by strike. This was actually, dare she say it... fun.

/*/

 _November 1_ _st_ _, 2008._

 _Finally, after months of preparation, Ash has begun the first stage of aura training. Finding it and drawing it forth. Even though we started only yesterday, he's been making quite a bit of progress. Brock, May, and Max have also been making good progress. I'm actually starting to think they have a shot at the greatness Arceus said they'd reach. Well, Arceus and whoever decided to turn Game Freak's 'Pokemon' series into an anime. Though... they really made Ash an idiot. Thankfully, I've been able to correct that. Slightly. Kid still has a long way to go, but I've got the feeling he's going to get a lot farther this time. Who knows, he might actually beat a league now! Though, he does need to start making use of his other pokemon. Ah well, that is then and this is now. Ack! He's still awake!_

/*/

"Ya know... there was a time when I thought it would be best to become a hermit," Fremd said one day, just after they arrived in a major city. The group gave her a curious look. "Now, I'm considering it again." Ash sighed. He wanted to say, 'you really have so little faith in the human race?' but Fremd hadn't released him from his silence, and he _really_ didn't want to face the punishment for going against her. Another trainer walked up, a cute girl with a rosey blush.

"You... you're the Dance Trainer right?" she asked. Fremd nodded, smiling at the girl. A child's drawing pad and a number 4 pencil was held out to the bemused woman. "Can I get your autograph?" the girl asked shyly. Fremd chuckled and took the offering.

"Who should I make it out to?" she asked sweetly.

"Katsu!" the girl chirped happily. Fremd chuckled again, signing the girl's name and moving to hand it back, before a thought struck her and she pulled out...

"Where did you keep those?" Brock asked for the whole group as Fremd sat down and drew a rather detailed picture of herself and Luke... in colored pencil. The woman smirked and handed the pad and pencil back to the girl.

"In my bag of holding of course. Every trainer gets one before they set out on their journey. Where do you think we store our fishing rods and multitude of berries, items, TMs, HMs, and food?" she asked, tone sassy. Brock rolled his eyes, but had to agree. Their bags did hold a ridiculous amount for their size. The girl giggled at their antics, thanked Fremd, then ran off, admiring the picture the famous trainer had drawn for her.

"Still considering becoming a hermit?" asked May. Fremd nodded.

"I'd have you four," she said with a rather unsettling grin.

"Suddenly, I want to move back to Johto," May muttered. Max laughed at his sister, but couldn't help wondering if that would be the better option. He resolved to talk to his sister about capturing a psychic that knew Teleport. It might be their only hope of escape. Ash made the motion for a sigh, eyes darting over toward his mentor.

"Oh don't be like that Ash! I'd treat you like my children. Heck, I already think of you lot as my kids! Just need Misty and the set will be complete!" she said, a sparkle in her eyes. Ash shivered dramatically and headed over to a restaurant, hand already going toward his wallet. Fremd rolled her eyes. "Always thinking with your stomach. Alright! We'll have lunch! And don't think I'll let you speak!" Ash turned back, eyes wide with surprise. "You've been doing well, I'll admit, but there is a way to use your abilities to speak without words. I know the trick, so I'll use it this time, since I don't want to get you something you really didn't want. However, I'll be teaching it to you soon enough, and once I do I'll expect you to communicate that way. But no unnecessary chatter or I'll close that down too!" she barked. Ash slumped, but nodded.

'I really want a double cheeseburger with fires and a root beer,' Ash thought, focusing on Fremd and the energy he could feel around her whenever she set him to meditating. He noticed her jerk, then look at him with wide eyes.

'That... was fast. Like... _really_... fast,' he heard her say... without moving her lips. Ash blinked, then realized he had just used the aura trick she'd _just_ mentioned was possible. 'You must have gotten a really good fix on my aura signature during meditation. Good work, my student. You just might reach your goal after all... future Pokemon Master,' the forbidding woman sent, smirking at him. To the rest of the group, it looked like just another of their silent exchanges, but to the two of them, it was something much more. To Fremd, it was confirmation of Ash's destiny. To Ash, it was vindication for all his hard work. It was a happy pair of aura-users who sat down to lunch at that Hoenn burger joint, munching on fires and sipping soda.

/*/

The group had reached the final gym needed for Ash to compete in the League tournament and Fremd had come to a decision. "I'm going to do the gym challenge as well," she declared. The group looked at her in shock. There wasn't much time left before the League started. "What? Dai knows a Kadabra. Give her a moment and..."

" _Kadabra is willing to teleport you to your gym matches, Mistress Fremd,_ " Dai sent. Fremd blinked, then shrugged.

"There you have it. I think I'll challenge Rustboro while you lot have fun here," she said. Before the crew could react, Fremd was warped away by Kadabra.

" _Mistress Fremd would like to inform you that Master Ash and Miss May may speak aloud while she is away,_ " Dai sent to the group. Ash, contrary to what his friends thought, kept to his silence even as he grinned widely and jumped in the air.

"Yes!" he quietly cheered when he touched back down.

"But... we've been allowed to speak during days off before..." May said uncertainly. Ash gave her a look.

"This is different," he insisted. May quirked an eyebrow.

"How?" she asked. The corner of Ash's mouth quirked up.

"Now it's for an undefined amount of time, not just a day or two," he said. May blinked, then realized he was right and whooped. Surprisingly, the boy winced at the noise. Brock didn't react, though he did feel a little nostalgic. Living with a horde of children kind of enables you to be selectively deaf. Still, the group was pleased with the set up and Ash got to training for his gym match.

/*/

Meanwhile, Fremd was considering the Rustboro gym. "Let's see... Roxanne uses rock types. Rock types are weak to... water and... steel? What about fighting? Fire? Hum..." Blue-green eyes narrowed at the door, willing the answer to her question to appear on the heavy stone. Sighing, she pulled out her pokedex and accessed the type chart. "Right. Fighting, water, steel, grass, and ground. Well. I have a fighting team, and if I switch Stacy out with Pam... nah. I'll keep Stacy. She knows Iron Tail after all," Fremd said quietly and pulled her Fighting Team out of her bag before setting it carefully into an alcove. She then strode confidently into the gym and issued her challenge. Roxanne asked about her badges and Fremd gave the Leader a wry smile. "I don't have any badges. This is my first challenge. Though I will warn you," she said, quickly adding the warning when Roxanne looked like she was about to treat her like a rookie, "Lance calls me to help out." Roxanne stopped and looked toward her.

"Lances calls you for help?" she asked. Fremd nodded.

"How well do you know Norman Maple?" she asked.

"Fairly well."

"He ever tell you of that crazy woman he met who beat him with an improvised Take Down from a heracross she caught with nothing but her own strength and a few rocks?"

"Yes... wait. That's you?" Roxanne asked, revising her strategy quickly.

"Hector!" Fremd called, sending out her second capture. Roxanne took a deep breath, nodded, and pulled out two pokeballs that were worn with age.

"These are the pokemon I used to gain my gym license. Do you know how one obtains such a thing?" she asked. Fremd nodded. They had to battle an Elite Four member... at least in Kanto/Johto.

"You battle someone on the caliber of an Elite Four member, right?" she asked, just to make sure. Roxanne nodded. "Well then, I should let you know that I'm fielding my Fighting Team... which also happens to have most of my oldest catches on it, including my starter."

"Very well. Go! Probopass!" Fremd nodded, seeing how strong the floating rock type was.

"Hector! Number forty-seven!" she called out. The scarred heracross nodded and flew at the rock type, literally, before delivering a devastating Brick Break from above. Before Roxanne could give a command or Probopass could dodge, Hector came in with a High Jump Kick from below, then a Double Kick before either fully touched down. "Another one bites the dust!" Fremd sang out, literally, and Hector nodded. Roxanne finally got back into the battle and called out for her pokemon to use Rock Tomb. Hector nimbly dodged the falling rocks and used...

"I didn't know heracross could learn Seismic Toss," Roxanne noted as her pokemon lay at the bottom of a rather large crater. Fremd shrugged.

"Eh, not that hard to figure out really. Kind of like how most pokemon could probably learn Rock Throw. It's easy. You throw rocks. I can do that," she said. Hector shivered.

"I'm guessing that's how you took down that heracross of yours?" Roxanne asked, preparing her next pokemon. Fremd nodded.

"More or less. I threw him around a bit too. Took a good hour or so, didn't it Hector?" she answered. Hector gave his trainer the gimlet eye and stalked back to his starting position. Fremd shook her head. "And yet you seem so proud that your trainer can actually train _with_ you instead of just giving you direction," she said fondly. The fighting bug huffed and focused on his opponent's side of the field. "Sorry. He gets like this sometimes. So. Next round?"

/*/

Ash was finally ready. He took a deep breath, then entered the gym. It was time. Time to get his last badge for the Hoenn region. It was going to be tough. It was going to be close. It was going to make Fremd proud that her student had bested every gym in the region. Wait... what? Since when did her approval matter so much to him? It was just vindication for all the hard work he did... right? Yeah. It wasn't like she was his aunt or anything. He took another deep breath, scratched Pikachu behind the ear, and issued his challenge to the gym leader.

/*/

"Here. You earned the Stone Badge. I must say, your pokemon are very strong," Roxanne told her most notable challenger to date. Fremd shrugged.

"They aren't really mine, way I see it. They just decided they wanted to travel with me, fight what battles come our way, help me with my mission. In return, I work with them, make them stronger. When I'm gone, it's my hope that they would find someone or some group, some hamlet, to protect and use what I've taught them to do so. But I thank you for your kind words all the same," she answered with a soft smile. Roxanne watched as the odd trainer departed and sighed heavily, sinking to sit on the stairs to her battle platform.

"It looks like I need to go back to school," she muttered, putting her head down. Her pokemon crooned at her, comforting her as best living hunks of rock could. They thought she was an excellent trainer who was being far too hard on herself. Roxanne smiled weakly at them. "Well, if you think I can do this, then I guess I'm just going to have to step up my game to be worthy of your overwhelming support," she said, her smile getting a bit stronger as she spoke.

/*/

Ash shook his head as he looked at the last badge he needed to enter the Hoenn League. "Water. Of course, Wallace would think he's the toughest, and he had some good pokemon, but..." he shook his head again, tucking the case away. "I almost feel sorry for wiping him out with just you, Pikachu," Ash said, turning to look at his most trusted friend.

" _Hey, I can't help it if you're an amazing trainer who gets into so much trouble I have to save him to the point my Thunder Shock is as powerful as a Dragon Rage,_ " Pikachu told his trainer. Of course, Ash only got about half of it, but he figured that was doing pretty well getting that much, considering how fast Pikachu had been speaking. He chuckled and rubbed his starter's head fondly.

"So Ash, what now?" May asked. Max and Brock looked over, curious as well. Ash shrugged.

"More of the usual while we wait for Fremd to get back. We train, we play, we laugh, and then when Fremd gets back, we go on to the league," he said. His friends nodded, not surprised, and followed him into the woods where they returned to practicing what Fremd had taught them.

/*/

Fremd blinked at the Knuckle Badge. The fight with Brawly had been... almost too easy. She had used her fighting team and totally wiped him out with only Tox. In fact, she was fairly certain that if Brawly didn't have some semblance of professionalism, he would have thrown himself at her feet and begged to be her disciple. Thinking of that, she turned to Blaze Fist. "What do you think Blaze? Want to stay and put Brawly and his team through their paces?" she asked.

" _Leave Luke or Dai to translate and we're golden,_ " the blaziken answered. Fremd smiled, tossed him his pokeball, along with Luke's, and said,

"Knock yourselves out... and the gym while your at it." Blaze Fist grinned his approximation of a grin and loped off to the gym. Fremd waited a moment before...

"Oh great Arceus! Really?!" She smirked and shouted,

"I'll be back after the League! Play nice now!" before Dai's Kadabra friend teleported her to Mauville.

/*/

"More of the usual. Great idea Ash," Brock huffed. Ash blinked, looking at his friends all laid out on the grass, panting.

"Huh. This is the easy stuff and you guys are already tired?" he asked. Brock gave him a look.

"Fremd has you on a different regiment than us, Dickkopf," he said bitterly. Ash laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he gave them an apologetic look. "Yeah yeah, I bet you're sorry. Just give us a break and we'll be fine. Go work with your pokemon," Brock said, some of the bitterness seeping from his voice. Ash smiled happily, nodded, and bounded off to work with the group of excited pokemon that was waiting for him. Ever since Fremd had started working with him, Ash's pokemon had noticed that he was a much better trainer, and he was only getting better. Sure his work outs and training sessions were hard and left them tried and a little achy, but they could feel the difference when they battled. They really couldn't complain, especially when Ash was putting himself through a similar work out each day. The other three humans let out long breaths as they tried to get their heart rates back down to normal levels.

"How do you think Fremd's doing?" May asked. Brock huffed a laugh.

"She's probably beaten the Mauville gym by now. And if Brawly didn't ask her to train him I'd be surprised," he said. May shrugged as best she could from her position sprawled out on the grass.

"Whatever. Nap time," she said, then fell asleep. Brock shook his head, but slept as well.

/*/

"Well. Electric and Fire were easy. What's next? Ah! Norman! Oh this is going to be fun. I wonder if he remembers me?" Frmed said, before getting dropped off in front of the Petalburg Gym. She took stock of it, then boldly strode inside and looked around the inside. "Not bad, not bad. Well, time to meet the man behind the gym," she said, then proceeded to sweep the gym trainers with her Dark Team until she reached Norman. He took one look at her, then slumped.

"Of course. Of course you'd be challenging the League this year. Okay. Let's do this, Fremd," he said, pulling himself back up and sending out his Slaking. Fremd smiled at the large sloth pokemon.

"Sorry friend, but I think Shinn is going to be giving you some trouble," she said, tossing out her luxray. Norman sighed, looking at the clearly powerful pokmon.

"Nothing's ever easy with you, is it?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Eh, not too sure about that Norman. Sweeping the last four gyms was pretty easy," she said.

"Yawn. Yeah, I'm sure it was. How'd Brawly react to you?" Noman said, ordering the first attack. Fremd pouted.

"No fair! 1. Well, he didn't quiet breakdown, but he clearly wanting to ask for tips," Fremd answered, commanding Shinn to use Spark. Norman clenched his teeth, then called out his next attack.

"Sounds about right. So you swept him huh?"

"27. Yep. With Tox. Didn't even need the others. Kind of a shame really."

"You know that order..." Norman began, before Shinn started to use Sleep Talk and pound Slacking with multiple attacks. "Daughter of a Metang!" he corrected. "Counter!"

"Heh. Not gonna work. Not like you want anyway," Fremd chuckled. Norman sighed as she was proven correct.

"Fine. So what did you leave the kid with?"

"Blaze Fist and Luke are working him and his team over for me. I'm going to pick the two of them up after the League," Fremd said, watching critically as Shinn continued to use Slacking as a soccer ball. He was showing signs of waking up. "Combo 7!" she called. Shinn's eyes popped open and he used Howl and Thunderbolt at almost the same time. Slacking was down for the count. Norman sighed and sent out his next pokemon.

"You're as good as I remember, Fremd. You been training?"

"Ha! Nothing but it seems," she responded, chuckling. Norman shook his head as Shinn lit his Vigoroth with the mother of all Thunderbolts.

"Ya know, that didn't look like a Thunderbolt, and you didn't say anything," Norman said. Fremd let out a small 'ah' and smiled.

"He worked it out then. I told Shinn about this one story I read with this one Pikachu, capital P, that took his control of his element to heights and lengths not even the Electric Legendaries thought of. My favorite, in amongst the dozens of Shock Wave variants, was something called 'Crashing Wave.' I told Shinn what it was described to look like, the 'science' put behind the effects, and that was enough for him to take off into excited leaps and bounds, declaring loudly that he would match this legendary Pikachu and make his Crashing Wave a reality. He just did," she explained as Norman shook his head at the smoking crater his knocked out Vigoroth was currently inhabiting.

"Do me a favor? Switch out for my last Slaking," he asked. Fremd laughed and sent out Addie. "Now your just being plain mean," Norman said, but sent out his last pokemon, only for it to be hit with a quick '1, 2' combo and sent to occupy the crater formed by Vigoroth. "Why are you even doing this?" Norman asked, returning his last pokemon and handing over the Balance Badge. Fremd chuckled.

"Well, I'm training Ash Ketchum, along with his friend Brock and your two kids. After tearing apart many battles and trying to instill something like skill and tact into Ash's thick head, I thought why not?" she answered, holding out her hand. "You reached your goal, Norman. And you've done well in it as well. I'm happy for you Norman." He shook his head as he shook her hand.

"And you're still wiping the floor with everyone," he returned with a smile. Fremd laughed.

"Had I been almost anyone else, you would have done the wiping, Norman. You've trained your pokemon well."

"Get out of here, Fremd. You've got places to go, gyms to beat. Fortree next right?"

"Yep. Man I love that place. Well, catch ya later. And tell Brad he's adorable when he's asleep. Fair warning, his Mightyena will likely laugh himself silly when you do," Fremd answered before walking out the door. Norman followed shaking his head. Same old Fremd.

/*/

Four hours later and Fremd was walking into Wallace' Water Type Gym. She shook her head, and fielded her Fire Team. "Fire? Really?" Wallace asked. Fremd jerked her shoulder.

"My team's strong enough. Is yours? Besides, that kid with the pikachu, spiky black hair, and lightning mark birthmarks is a student of mine. Kid was a wreck before I got to him. Now, we going to battle or stand here flapping our gums all day?" she asked, tossing Dai's 'ball in her hand in an agitated manner. Wallace scoffed and tossed out his first pokemon. Fremd smirked and tossed Dai into battle. "Show him the meaning of the old 1, 2 Dai," she said. The delphox came out swinging. The fight was short, high paced, and had none of the easy joking banter of her match with Norman or even the professionalism of Winona. To be honest, it was brutal and Fremd walked out bouncing the badge in her palm while shaking her head. "And this is what they give a gym license to. Pathetic," she said.

"Well, I guess what they saw about type advantage is true. It doesn't mean everything," Wallace moaned to himself.

/?/

A/N: Anyone notice how all Pokemon games seem to be the same? Ruby and Emerald are at least, and Sapphire seems to be as well. It follows reason that the other paired games would be pretty much the same as well. How odd.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: I apologize to those who wanted to read awesome pokemon battles in the Hoenn League. That is not this story or this author. For good, well written battles I suggest the two stories that made me want to do this. _Ashes of the Past_ by Saphrothe and _Master Challenge_ by nosignalbluescreen. Both are amazing and partially what I'm basing the end result of this Ash on. Though... mostly _Ashes of the Past._ Also, Fremd has read something at least similar to those stories and is working toward an Ash similar to the one in _Ashes of the Past._ Just a little added information for you.

A/N 2: Until I get a better grasp on how the Sinnoh adventures went, I'm mostly going to be writing pokenav entries. Hopefully, I'll be able to write something a bit more substantial soon so you won't be subjected to frustrated muttering, or mere fluff, for too many chapters.

 **Chapter 5:** In Which...

Fremd didn't really care for the League. Oh she helped out and made sure the order of the world wasn't shattered and that meant working with the League, but the actual tournament? She was sweeping all her opponents. And she didn't even have full use of her Fighting Team! Blaze Fist and Luke were still with Brawly. Ash wasn't doing too badly either. Fremd thought they may even face each other in the tournament. She wasn't too sure how she felt about that, but it seemed that if it happened, she'd knock Ash out of the tournament. The days dragged on, and battles were fought, but Fremd didn't care about that as much as how Ash was doing in his aura training. "You need to calm down child! Honestly, how you've survived this long as a loud mouthed, hyperactive, tactless idiot escapes me. How many times have you blundered blindly into something and then needed to be hauled back out of it? Think! Breath! Feel the world around you, observe the way your opponent moves, think out how the attack will come, how you will deflect or counter. Find your center. All that kung fu mumbo jumbo cliche stuff," Fremd barked at the boy. He gave her a flat, incredulous look and she shrugged. "Most of it I meant, but you have to be fast about it all, aside from breathing. You want your breathing to be deep and even, like a broad, strong river. In fact, if you could be like a river, do. Be swift, sure, relentless, deep, wide, and powerful while also calm and steady. The water rushes, but the river never wavers. The water is relentless, wearing down rock. The river is sure in it's path, the sound soothing to the ear. Think you can pull it off, Ketchum?" she said. It had been many months since they had started, and Ash was beginning to notice that Fremd was calling him Ketchum more often than she was calling him Dickkopf. It was a heartening change. He sighed, then gave a swift nod. Fremd smiled. "Good. Now, try again," she said, nodding to Hector. The fighting bug gave his version of a grin and started launching Pin Missiles at Ash. He took a deep breath, focused on the feel around him, and dodged. Or tried too anyway. Still, he did better than last time and managed to evade about a fifth of the missiles, as opposed to none. Fremd shook her head, and waved to Hector to switch targets. He did so and the group watched in awe as she danced and swayed out of the way of the missiles. Small flashes of blue appeared when she flicked her wrist, snapping her hand into a missile and deflecting it. This went on for about a minute, then she signaled a stop and looked to Ash. "This takes very little aura, which is why it is the next step after meditation and the exercises I had you doing before. Now. Close your eyes and focus on my aura as we do this again," she said. Once she could feel his aura reaching out for hers, she motioned for Hector to resume. He did so and Ash gasped as he could see what she was doing. Then a thought drifted along the connection. 'I should have done this at the beginning. Idiot.' He smirked. So, she calls herself an idiot? 'And stop listening to my thoughts! It's rude.' He sent a mental chuckle and withdrew a bit more, but focused enough on her that he could see what she was doing.

/*/

Fremd lost herself in the exercise, though she could feel the aura for a good twenty feet around her. She called it her Sphere of Divination, in a not too subtle nod toward one of her favorite anime. She could have also called it her Sphere of Awareness or her Area of Influence, but she liked Sphere of Divination best, so that was what she used. Her Shield was much smaller than her Sphere of Divination and more in line with the techniques used in History's Strongest Disciple; Kenichi. But she wasn't quite ready to part with that sort of information just yet. No. First, Ash needed to get his own Sphere of Divination. Once he had that, he could tighten it, draw it closer, and truly harness the aura. She mentally snickered. She sounded like a jedi. Really, that was why her lucario was named Luke. She got a kick out of telling him to 'use the force Luke!' It was the little things in life. She could feel Ash realize just how what she was asking him to do worked. She mentally chastised herself for not doing this from the beginning when she felt that 'ah-ha!' moment from Ash. Amusement drifted off him. 'So... she calls even herself an idiot,' he thought. Fremd huffed, mentally frowning to herself. She told the boy to stop listening and threw herself once more into her training. She hadn't down this in... gosh. She didn't think she'd done this since she picked up Ash and Co.! 'Gotta step it up guys,' she sent to her Teams. All eighteen of her pokemon sent back varying forms of 'roger that boss.' She smiled to herself. Man did she love her Teams. Fighting was her favorite, but that might be because most of her oldest pokemon were on it, along with the one pokemon she'd raised from an egg. Luke. She loved Luke like a son and she decided, if she had kids here, she'd tell them that Luke was their big brother. She was sure Luke would raise to the occasion beautifully. Seeing his Meema was busy, Luke tapped Ash on the shoulder. Once he had the boy's attention, he backed up and started shooting aura spheres at him. Seeing as they were made of aura, it was easy for Ash to sense them. It was another matter to dodge them, however, as they moved faster than the Pin Missiles Hector was shooting. Fremd noticed, but saw no need to intervene. It would only push the boy higher after all, showing him the need for speed and stamina. So May, Max, and Brock wandered off to train their own pokemon while the two aura users danced and dodged the attacks of That Crazy Woman's pokemon.

/*/

The two aura users trained like that for four hours until Fremd signaled it was time to stop. Ash fairly collapsed when she did. Shaking her head, though her smile was a bit self deprecating, she picked the boy up, nodding when she felt how heavy he'd gotten, proving that he was getting _something_ out of her training. She carried him to his room and tucked him in. 'I'm getting in over my head,' the twenty-eight year old woman thought, looking down at the thirteen year old. The closest thing she could be to him was an aunt. A crazy aunt. But she was beginning... to think of him... as family all the same. 'Darn you Arceus! And whoever helped you! This most definitely was not my idea, or my plan,' she thought mutinously. She could have sworn she heard Pailaka giggling. And the sound of someone hitting their head against a brick wall. She smirked. Ah. Chaos. She loved to bring it into the world. Or, rather, the Hall of Origins. She had made it her personal mission in life to torment Arceus and his legendaries. But not like those low-life Teams. No no. they were dangerous. She was... Mew-like. Yes. Mew-like. And mildly sadistic. She blamed Arceus. He interfered with her death. She was fairly sure it had scrambled her mind somewhere along the line. She shook her head at herself and left to take a shower. 'I'm really getting in too deep,' she thought. She didn't see the content smile spread across Ash's face as she left. He had woken up ten minutes previous and touched her aura. He had heard her thoughts, felt the conflicting emotions.

'She does care,' he thought mussily to himself as he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

/*/

 _November 4_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _League matches are over rated. I've beaten Lance before. These mooks are not Lance. If they think they have a chance at beating him, they're dead wrong. Seriously. It's not even funny. Destroying Team Rocket cells is harder than this! And Team Rocket cells are notoriously badly trained! Honestly, how does the kid find enjoyment in these things? It's... oh. Right._ Child's play.

/*/

Charles Goodshow was the man when it came to leagues and tournaments and all that, no matter what region you were in. He knew who Fremd was. And he knew her reputation. He wondered why she bothered with the league when her feelings about most of its members were well known to be at least somewhat derogatory. So, when she won the Hoenn League, he was most certainly not surprised. The young man who came second did. Ash Ketchum, who had been defeated in the previous two leagues he competed in before reaching the top ten was now second under _Fremd the Wanderer_. This equated to being the over all winner in a normal league. Normal meaning a league where Fremd sat out. It was all rather confusing. But then, that was basically Fremd in a nut shell. So, he did his job, and handed Fremd the trophy for that year's league. She handed it to Ash and walked off, hands in her bomber jacket pockets, whistling a tune he couldn't recognize. Ash chuckled, shrugged, and waved to the cameras once before following Fremd with a thoroughly amused look on his face. Charles just shook his head at the oddity of the whole thing and went on with his life. Fremd made everything she touched odd. It was a fact of life.

/*/

'Why did you give me the trophy?' Ash sent when he was close enough to his teacher. She would have smirked if it wouldn't have messed up her whistling.

'Because if I hadn't joined the challenge, you would have won. Besides, I have no mantle on which to place it. Send it back to your mother. Excellent bragging rights for the rest of your life. You could retire now, go to a regular school, find a good job, and be set,' she sent back. Ash shook his head.

'You know I can't so that.' Fremd sighed.

'More than you know kid. More than you know,' she thought, privately. There were a lot of times she wished Arceus had picked someone else. She didn't even know all the things Ash would have to face! She just knew that originally he had been a tactless idiot and she couldn't stand him. At least now the Hoenn league was over. Next up... Sinnoh! But, before that, they had a party to attend in Pallet town. Fremd had already introduced herself to the relevant people in Pallet town, giving references and generally making sure they wouldn't freak out when she started traveling with Ash. So, Ash was mildly disappointed when his mother didn't go crazy on the insane woman(who he later found out had taken out both Team Aqua and Team Magma, along with the Rocket base, while they were in Hoenn) and instead welcomed her in and gave her food. Good food too. And she watched as Fremd worked him into the ground. He wrote a rather angry entry into his own journal that night. Fremd didn't really care.

/*/

 _November 14th, 2008._

 _We have finally departed Pallet Town and are on our way to Sinnoh! Yay! I loved Sinnoh! Especially the Lucario Kingdom! Incidentally, that is also the setting, or near enough, of one event I can actually remember, if vaguely. Hunter J is supposed to show up somewhere near there with a riolu that was already trained in aura. Hee. Heehee. Heeheeheee~! Yes! Finally! Me and Pam have some business to finish with that Purple Punk! I don't care how scarily competent and well equipped she is, that twit is going down! She is going way down! Oh yes. I like Sinnoh. And it's mountains. Pretty mountains. Make me feel closer to Jesus. Oh, the view from the top of the mountain, the acoustics! Wonderful, just wonderful._

/*/

 _November 15th, 2008._

 _Jesus, give me strength and wisdom to survive this insanity I have been thrust into. Honestly, why should it take this long to get to Sinnoh? Why I ask you? I was able to fly from Atlanta, Georgia to San Francisco, California in four hours, why is Kanto to Sinnoh so much longer?! Jesus, keep my temper level for the rest of our trip, and reign in my fist when we dock. I'd rather not hurt my student in anger. Oh yeah. Brock, May, and Max all left us before we left for the port. Heh, guess they wanted a break from the craziness that seems to follow Ash like a honey bee. I'm surprised we didn't attract more absol while in Hoenn, with what he gets up to! Oh~, there he goes again._

/*/

 _November 16th, 2008._

 _Solid ground! Oh, solid ground! How I love you! Oh, beauteous earth! Oh joyous birds! A hint of snow on the breeze! Yes! This is where I should be! Oh! I love the feel of solid ground beneath my feet! And best of all... sound doesn't get trapped in open air like it does in a crowded boat. My head ache has gone down considerably. Oh, and I let Ash speak aloud again before we got on the boat. I figured, he knows the aura trick, and he now has some idea the wisdom and use for being silent. Why should I enforce silence now? He'd be able to override me. Still can't beat me in a fight though!_

/*/

 _November 17th, 2008._

 _We arrived in Twinleaf Town today. We met up with Dawn. Man, kid is as much a mess as Ash was in the beginning. I have my work cut out for me. My life man, my life..._

/?/

A/N: Sorry this chapter's so short. I've lost my motivation for this fic. I'll update when my inspiration is back. It's as flighty as an abra! Anyway, one last thing, I'd really appreciate it if you signed in to comment. Honestly, did I not warn you guys that I am a passing fan of pokemon? Did I not warn you that I only recently started playing the games and that I quite frankly can't stand the anime? Cut this poor girl some slack! I'm trying! Geez. Anyway, I've planned at least four other worlds for Fremd to shape and change, though the third world, 'Naruto,' is shaping up to be my favorite. Alas, I need to finish Pokemon and Harry Potter before Naruto can be graced with the world shaking power of Fremd. Anyway, there's your second monster A/N for this chapter. Remember: sign in to review. It makes responding much easier and more reliable. If I get a poor review that I want to address from a guest, there's no guarantee that the reader will come back to read my answer. Or that they won't just skim over that part. I ask this because I have received complaints about the number of chapters and a rather funny review that I really wanted to respond to but I couldn't. So please, be considerate, and sign in. you might get a funny answer to your reviews, or a serious one if called for. I've rambled at you enough so I shall simply apologize for the lack of proper battles and ask you to review(after signing in)

Ciao!

Regenengel3


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not fully mine.

A/N: Can I just say I love bulbapedia? It was there for me when I was about to lose this story forever! Yays! Okay, done now. Back to the story!

 **Chapter 6:** Are You Sure?

Fremd surveyed the area around her and nodded. Yes, it would do well as a training ground. Ash had about half a year to collect eight badges, Fremd knew exactly where all the gyms were, and had the authority to lead the motley crew Ash was almost certain to collect by the nose if she had to. So, they had some time to spare for training. And she wasn't going to skimp on that. No way no how! But... there was a catch. A catch she was just beginning to understand. The poor boy... had been pretty much without guidance... since he was ten. _Ten!_ And he had apparently never had a father figure in his life. Not that he could remember, and really, not remembering a father was as bad as not really having one. And Delilah Ketchum had proven to be just as flighty as Fremd had assumed on the rare, very rare, occasions that she watched the anime. Like, as flighty and oblivious as Nana in KHR! It wasn't a very flattering comparison. So, Fremd was going to have to either play mother while also training him to be a fighter as well as call in male re-enforcement, or she was going to have to call in male _and_ female re-enforcement. She sighed again even as she set her crew to work. This was going to take some pondering.

/*/

To say Brad Valquez was surprised to get a call from the enigmatic Fremd would be a gross understatement. He was so shocked, he fell from his chair with a rather unmanly squeak. He got up to a silently snickering Fremd, seeing as he preferred to use a handset with his video phone instead of a wide range mic. "Were you expecting someone else or are you just that thrilled to see me?" Fremd asked once he had righted himself and picked up the receiver, quirking an eyebrow. He glowered.

"Why are you calling me?" he asked. Fremd pouted, sitting back in the Pokemon Center chair she had pulled up to the phone with a cool nonchalance that many people tried and failed to achieve.

"And here I thought you might actually like seeing me. Oh well, guess not. I'll just hang up and vanish off the face of the map until the next big event that has me blowing up a corporate high rise," she said mournfully. Brad sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. Talking with Fremd was interesting at the best of times. Trying to talk to a playful Fremd was vexing every time. And Fremd was definitely playful at the moment. Or she could be trying to...

"Alright. Why are you calling _me_ when I'm pretty sure you have Lance on speed dial? Surely he would be better equipped to help you on whatever crazy scheme you've cooked up this time," Brad said. Fremd sighed, hanging her head.

"I'm sorry Brad. Really, I am. But there's no-one else I can ask! Lance has obligations, as does Norman, and Silver is a jerk, and Red's a hermit on a snow covered mountain, and Giovanni's a scumbag. Honestly, I don't meet a lot of good, honest, hardworking men. And I have need of that kind of man at the moment. Remember Ash?"

"You want me to come help train him?" Brad asked, wondering if this was a dream come true, or the beginning of his doom.

"Please? The poor kid hasn't had a real father figure his whole life! And his mother is flighty. And... just... off. Please! I'm going to need help on this one! I'm not a guy. Regardless of everything I do, I am, in fact, a woman. Ash needs a man in his life to be, well, a man! So please?" Fremd pleaded. Brad sighed, defeated, a slight smile on his face.

"You had me at 'please,'" he told her, not even caring how cheesy that sounded. She smiled beautifully at him.

"Thank you! I'll meet you at Professor Rowan's lab. About how soon can you get here?" she asked. Brad considered it, then nodded.

"I'd say two days." Fremd nodded as well. Brad had a rather well trained, and _fast_ , Salamance. He could take the direct route.

"See you then Brad! And thank you so much for doing this," she said. Brad shrugged.

"Not really a problem. Besides, I've been getting itchy feet. You've just given me the perfect reason to get up and travel again!" he said brightly. Fremd laughed, then waved him off.

"Go get packed you knuckle head! I'm going to be expecting you at Rowan's lab in two days, so don't you dare be late!" she said, though Brad could see the teasing glint in her eye. He laughed semi-mockingly at her and ended the call. He took a deep breath then...

"YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!" he cheered, grabbing his water type starter, Oswald, and spinning around in a happy circle. Oswald rolled his eyes and smirked at his trainer. That female always had a strange effect on Brad.

/*/

Meanwhile, back in Sinnoh, the group came across a young trainer attacking a flock of starly. They stayed to watch, frowning at his treatment of the gentle birds and odd method of 'training.' Fremd stepped out with a scoff. Ash slapped a hand to his forehead while Brock, who for some odd, unfathomable reason, had decided he wanted to travel around Sinnoh as well. And what better way than with familiar faces? Even if Fremd freaked him out. Badly. Anyway, Brock frowned even more heavily at Fremd's actions. "So, this is what you call training your pokemon?" she asked snidely. The purple haired trainer looked up with a fearsome scowl on his face. A scowl the Mighty Fremd was immune to, unfortunately for him.

"What's it to you?" he snarled. Fremd's countenance darkened further.

"Tell me something, Punk," she began.

"Paul," the boy corrected, his scowl somehow becoming darker.

" _Punk,_ " Fremd reiterated, glaring at the boy, before continuing, "are you too lazy to train a pokemon to it's full potential, or do you honestly believe in the whole 'once a loser, always a loser' mindset?" Paul frowned even more heavily at the strange woman before him. Suddenly, one of Fremd's pokeballs popped open and Blaze Fist materialized beside his trainer.

" _Fremd, I do believe the child is challenging you,_ " he said. Fremd shook her head.

"No, Blaze Fist, I don't think he is. He's pondering. Like the dark, broody, emotionally stunted yet really very angry, misguided, lonely, and afraid child that he is," she said. Paul bristled and Fremd smiled at him. "I propose a bet," she said, her smile becoming a smirk.

"A bet?" Paul asked, quirking an eyebrow. Fremd nodded and tossed out Flan's pokeball.

"This is Flan, my newest addition. I've had her on my team for three years, raising her from a yearling. I propose a trade. My already accomplished, yet newest, pokemon for your weakest pokemon. We train each others pokemon for a month, then have a one-on-one battle with said pokemon. I bet that I can train your weakest pokemon to be able to beat Flan as she is now, and that you won't be able to make Flan progress from where she is now. If I win, meaning I beat you in the one-on-one, you have to travel with and be taught by me. If you win, you get to ask one favor of me. What do you say?" she said. Flan wasn't perturbed in the least by the bet. Fremd had already talked about it to her via aura. And Paul was so 'stoic,' though Fremd still stood by her 'emotionally stunted' theory, that no-one watching could tell how he felt about it all. And his aura was so muddled Fremd couldn't be too sure what he was feeling.

"Deal," he said, handing over the starly he had just caught. Fremd was rather glad she had patched all his pokemon into the conversation via aura so the poor starly wasn't too confused or upset. Still, both trainer and pokemon bristled at the casual way he just gave over his pokemon.

"I'll warn you though, Flan's a firecracker. You've got to be at least a little understanding with her. And remember, she knows _exactly_ what you're talking about at any given time. Arcanine are intelligent creatures, even for pokemon," Fremd said, giving Paul a warning look. The boy scoffed and walked off, never knowing there had been an audience for his sudden bet with the strange woman in the leather jacket. Ash came out shaking his head.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked. Fremd shrugged, returning Blaze Fist and releasing the starly Paul had traded for the bet.

"I felt a need to call the boy out. No big deal. Besides," she turned to him with a deep sadness in her eyes. "I could feel the darkness warring with a strong light in that boy. He's got potential, and I don't want him to throw it away. He could be someone you turn to in a pinch, given the right incentive. Think of it this way, he could either be a Giovanni, or a Brad. He could push you higher while you push him higher, or he could hold you back, rile you up, and learn nothing. I want to help him, and this bet will allow me to do so. Little starly, I'm going to make you a queen of the skies and together, we'll show Paul what a pokemon can really do," she said, ignoring Ash's confused look. The poor boy sighed, knowing he wouldn't get anything out of her when she was like that, and started walking.  
"Where do you think you're going Ketchum? We've got training!" Fremd said, eyes glinting. Ash flopped forward and trudged back to her, though he was clearly pouting.

/*/

 _November 18_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Well, we met Paul today. And I made a bet with him. I doubt I'll lose, Flan was one of the harder pokemon to train when I first got her, and she already doesn't really like Paul. So she'll be testy enough without him being cold and disdainful. She's not going to get much out of this month. Starly, however, shall. I wouldn't be too surprised if she evolves while with me. Ash is grumbling to himself, Brad's on his way, and Brock looks like he wants to bang his head against a tree. We haven't quite caught up to Dawn. What? Oh yeah, when I said we met, I mean we saw her on the video phone at the pokemon center. Ah well. Oh yeah, and I decided to play mom for Ash. Kid needs some further instruction on the way of life and how to treat women. Brad's coming to play dad and teach him how to be a man. Honestly, sending a ten year old out into the world to fend for himself is just foolishness!_

/*/

After two days of training on the move, they reached professor Rowan's lab. Dawn was there as well. Ash thought he saw a sadistic smirk on his teacher's face, but didn't say anything. She'd likely put him through extra training if he did. A moment later, a large salamance touched down outside and Brad slid off it's back. "Someone call for re-enforcements?" the trainer asked with a smirk. His salamance roar behind him, ruffling his hair with a buffet of wind from his powerful wings. Fremd smiled at the man, though she gave the pokemon a welcoming pat first.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice Brad," she said, turning to her rival/friend. Brad blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah well, I couldn't really say no, now could I?" he asked. Ash blinked. What now?

"Hum. Ash? Remember how you told me you didn't really have a dad?" Fremd asked. Ash blinked again. "Well, I asked Brad to fill in!" Fremd said brightly, even though her student could tell she was nervous. Aura abilities had some perks. Brad was just as nervous. But why? Did they think Ash would react badly?

"I like him. He's cool," Ash said after a moment. Brad's smile grew to a wild grin.

"Well alright then! I'm kinda tired from the trip, and you look about the same, so what do you say I cook us some dinner and we can just sit back and relax for tonight?" Fremd pouted and Brad cuffed her. "Not everyone is a stamina freak like you, Fremd, even if our boy has the potential to be a bigger one than you. Now take a break and go play with your pokemon!" Ash smirked. Oh yes, he liked Brad. Fremd pouted harder, but went off to play, stroking starly and muttering darkly about 'one day' and 'precious' and 'show him play.' While Ash was a little worried, Brad just shook his head and moved toward the kitchen to start cooking.

/*/

 _November 20_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _I think I might actually love Brad. He came in my hour of need without asking a lot of questions, he's good with Ash, he can cook, and he's casually giving me tips for starly! Oh yes, I do believe he's a keeper. On the other hand, Paul popped up to ask where we should meet to finish the bet. I told him to meet us in Jublife City. He agreed and we went on our merry way. I know that in the other time line, Ash and Paul were rivals, but I feel like... Paul could be a great guy, if he loosened up a little and showed that he cared. Ah well, time will tell._

/*/

The gang left Professor Rowan's lab the next morning, starly riding on Fremd's shoulder and Dawn chattering about how she wanted to catch a new pokemon. Ash was silent, even though he was sure he could tell her how to catch a pokemon. Fremd noticed how Ash was holding himself back and smirked. Brad noticed their troubles and sighed. "Mightyena, show them where their wrong will you?" he asked, releasing his second pokemon. Mightyena nodded with a chuffing sound her trainer knew to be laughter before finding a likely candidate for her trainer's team. A random croagunk. She started off with a Bite, then tackled it, before jumping back for Brad to throw the pokeball. "And that... is how you catch a pokemon," he said smugly as the ball was whisked away to his PC. Fremd nodded, happy that someone had finally tried to teach the girl! That was when she stopped and turned to look at Dawn.

"Did no-one ever tell you the basics of pokemon training?" she asked. Dawn laughed nervously, an anime sweatdrop appearing on her right temple. Fremd sighed. "Okay. First, your starter. Which one did you choose?"

"Pip-lup!" Dawn's starter said proudly. Fremd smiled down at the little penguin, then looked up at Dawn.

"Piplup's a good choice. Water types are good against a variety of types, mostly ground and rock. When did you get him?"

"Uh... five days ago?" Fremd nodded solemnly.

"You don't want to try and pit him against any grass or electric types just yet. Get him a high enough level, maybe evolved a level or two, and it won't really matter, especially against lower level pokemon like starly here." The little bird pokemon fluffed her feathers imperiously, getting a small laugh out of her temporary trainer. She really wished it wasn't so temporary. Fremd was wonderful. Oh wait, more teaching. "Piplup are also rather prideful. If they stumble or fail, they'll puff out their chests and act like they meant to do that. It's hard for them to accept help, just like some humans. Kindness and understanding are needed to properly train a piplup. Do you understand so far?" Dawn nodded, though Fremd had a feeling if she dumped too much more information on the girl, she'd loose her. "Right. Now, captures. Capturing a pokemon is one of the easiest ways to make sure they listen to you past their second evolution. To capture a pokemon, you first weaken it, or give it a status condition such as sleep, paralysis, or poison. Once weakened, you throw the pokeball at it. Brad and his wonderful mightyena demonstrated this to us just a short while ago. Another way to capture a pokemon is to go to a safari zone and play their game. No outside pokemon and no outside pokeballs. There are some safari zones that don't have those rules, but all the ones I've decided to try and enter did. The third way to get a new pokemon is to not capture them, but to trade them. Trading a pokemon makes it harder to get the pokemon to listen to you, especially those of higher levels. This is, I believe, because the pokemon doesn't know or trust your methods. Kind of like if your mom decided to trade you to a friend of her's. You wouldn't want to listen to her, right?"

"My mom would never do that!" Dawn shouted. Fremd nodded.

"That's why I don't trade. In fact, all my pokemon are either captures or rescues who decided they wanted to come with me. Starly is the only exception, and she's only with me for a month before I trade her back for Flan, my arcanine. It's a little better if you'd only just caught the pokemon that you're trading, then it's not as harsh because the pokemon in question doesn't really know you very well. Before we move on, is there anything I forgot or you'd like more information on?" she said. Dawn shook her head, Brad chuckling behind her.

"I think you covered it all pretty well Fremd," he said. The woman nodded, then walked off toward their next destination, directing starly to practice her attacks and maneuvers as they went. "She's really committed to training that starly. I never used to see her training her pokemon when she walked. She always stopped for a day or two to train," Brad commented. Ash nodded.

"She made a bet with this trainer called Paul. They have one month to train their traded pokemon, a single one-on-one battle to prove who has the best method when it comes to pokemon. Paul has to help Flan progress, Fremd has to train starly to beat her. If Fremd loses the bet, Paul gets one favor. If Paul loses, I get a training partner until Fremd says otherwise," he explained. Brad let out a small 'ah' of understanding.

"So that's what she meant by that. I was kinda wondering when she captured a new pokemon, and why she hadn't named it. She made a point of naming all her pokemon," he said. Ash let out his skitty.

"That explains why Skitty is now Skittles," he said. Brad looked at the cute, pink, cat, then started to laugh.

"I wouldn't have pegged her for the skitty type!" he said. Ash shrugged.

"I wouldn't have pegged her for the skittles type, but she is," he replied. Brad nodded.

"Touche, kid, touche."

/*/

 _November 21_ _st_ _, 2008._

 _Well, Dawn fought Nado today. And then Ash fought him. And then he decided he'd be a twofer and do both battles and contests. To be perfectly honest, I don't care for contests. I'm horrible at them. Straight forward battling is more my style. Though, Ash might have the needed flare for contests. He's kinda flashy. Anyway, that happened. More ho-hum days ahead!_

/*/

Starly was shaping up nicely, as were the rest of the team's pokemon and Brad had really bonded with Ash. Dawn had received more one-on-one instruction from Fremd, with Ash or Brad piping up with examples or other tidbits. Suddenly, a cage fell from the sky and scooped up pikachu! It wasn't the usual Rocket cell though. No. They had faked their deaths, changed their look, and gone more or less legit. Somehow, James had managed to call Fremd a few weeks ago and give her a status update. He'd cut his hair, including his bangs, and shifted his part while allowing a goatee to grown on his chin. He'd gotten a job with a construction company, putting his Rocket training to decent use, and was much happier than previously. Jessie had been with him when he called, so Fremd could see how she'd changed as well. Her magenta hair was shorter, and wasn't in the stiff curl it had been in before. She had gotten a job as a fashion journalist and couldn't be happier. Meowth, they said, had gotten a job filming commercials for PokeMart, though he wasn't as happy as they were with his job. Anyway, this wasn't the Rocket cell they were familiar with. It was Butch and Cassidy. Fremd growled and sent Polly out to cut the chain holding Pikachu, but Ash had already called out, calling Butch Bart, causing the man to thrash and yell, tilting the balloon into Polly's path. Fremd groaned. Why did this always happen to them?

/*/

 _November 22_ _nd_ _, 2008._

 _Ash now has a turtwig. This turtwig had been scorned by it's previous trainer and decided to protect the other pokemon in it's area, but thought Ash was a bad guy. He used his aura to connect with the surly turtle and now their friends and the little starter even helped send Butch and Cassidy on their way. Good turtle. I shall allow you to stay. Just don't eat my sandwich and we're cool._

/*/

 _November 23_ _rd_ _, 2008._

 _Paul showed up again. He was just as snooty as before. He didn't see me and challenged Ash to a battle. They fought, Ash showing off turtwig. Poor kid, turtwig didn't want to listen just yet and the boys ended up falling off a cliff. They made it out, though Ash refuses to tell me what happened between him and Paul. I was off getting water when the boys returned, so Brad had to tell me a bunch of ursaring attacked and Paul drove them off, capturing one while he was at it. Ash told me later that I was right. Did he see the goodness in Paul's heart? The faint cinders of tenderness in his aura? I certainly hope so. The dratted child won't tell me anything! Also, I do believe training shall be stepped up._

/*/

 _November 24_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _More walking, more training, more blah. Dawn's trying to teach piplup a new move. Looks like a beaut, but I'm not too sure she's going about teaching him right. Ah well, they'll work it out. People always seem to when around Ash. He's like... a work it out field generator. Okay, that was bad. Need sleep. Going insane. er. More insane. Yeah. More insane. Pretty stars._

/*/

 _November 25th, 2008._

 _Wow. Butch and Cassidy aren't really that far above Jessie and James when it comes to brilliant plans and food stores. Seems they've taken the bumblers place as the comic relief in this story. Ah well, at least piplup learned that new he'd been trying to get down for the last two days. Oh look! Pinap berries! I can make some nice sauce out of these!_

/*/

 _November 26th, 2008._

 _Well, we busted a Team Rocket scam again today. Butch and Cassidy tried a fake gym. Not too bad, and the disguises were better, but even without aura, Ash saw through it. I'm so proud! He's gotten more observant! Anyway, we busted them, Brock got a crokagunk, Dawn is beginning to understand this is a recurring thing with Ash, and I found potatoes! Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew~..._

/*/

 _November 27th, 2008._

 _Oh! Dawn is so fun to torment! I've decided Brad can handle Ash for a few hours while I work with Dawn and ho boy is this fun! Playing contest judge for her is amusing, but having Blaze, Hector, and Polly, some of my more fearsome pokemon, show her up in contest style? Ha! I haven't laughed this hard in ages! Test on my dear, test on!_

/*/

Brock was training his pokemon all on his own that day. It was a nice feeling, being alone with his pokemon. He was also realizing something. "I... don't think I'm really a rock specialist," Brock finally admitted.

"Croka croka gunk," his newest pokemon said gently, patting him on the back. Brock smiled up at the poison toad.

"Yeah. I wasn't really that great as a gym leader anyway. So, what moves do you know?" Brock asked. And so, crokagunk and his new trainer bonded while the other pokemon watched their trainer grow just a little bit more. It was always heartwarming to see. While Brock was doing that, Ash was finding out what it felt like to have a father figure, and Fremd was stretching Dawn to find new ways to use her pokemon's abilities to not only show off it's beauty, but also it's power.

"A pokemon is not just a pretty face, Dawn. In this way, a pokemon is like a storm. Cold, foreboding, powerful, dangerous, yet mesmerizing and awe inspiring. This is why you should also train for power. An appeal can be made more amazing when a pokemon displays control and precision as well as power. Now, awe me with your power!" Fremd urged. Dawn nodded, though she was a little afraid she couldn't draw that kind of power out of piplup.

"Piplup! Jump and use Bubblebeam!" she instructed. The little pokemon did as ordered, spraying bubbles in a tight circle around him. "Now, Peck!" Dawn called. Quick, precise, strikes popped the bubbles, sending sparkling droplets of water flying outward around the still spinning piplup. Fremd hummed, but said nothing for a moment.

"Not too bad. Teach him Ice Beam to freeze the bubbles before Pecking them and it would show more power as well as make the powder more impressive. Still, not too bad," the elder trainer said. Dawn jumped in celebration, but soon froze as she felt an oppressive aura behind her. "Now it's time for _your_ training!" the evil specter growled before it grabbed her and dragged her off to jog around the clearing they were in. Her complaints made Ash smirk darkly, before Brad cuffed him and told him to join in. Soon, they were all running laps and completing various exercises. Just another day for out heroes.

/*/

 _November 29_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Oh yes, Dawn is nearly as fun to torment as May. And she has a similar set of pipes. Ash is progressing well as well. Though... I have this feeling... we're about to get hopelessly lost rather soon... Darn you anime logic!_

/*/

 _September 1_ _rst_ _, 2008._

 _Remember that feeling we were going to get lost? Ha! Yeah. We did. Spectacularly. As in, fell down a cliff, tripped into the sea, got carried half a mile down the coast, swam to shore, and now we're struggling to make it to Jubelife. I hate my life._

/*/

 _September 3rd, 2008._

 _Ash is horrible with directions, and starly is a good bird. I sure hope Paul appreciates the hard work I'm putting into her._

/*/

 _September 5_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Must. Not. Strangle. Dickkoph. Must. Not. Lash. Out. Must. Reach. Jubelife. City. Bet! I will. Win. BET!_

/*/

 _September 8th, 2008._

 _Oh to be a young girl with not pressing problems. Dawn used piplup as a hair care product, Pikachu has a new admirer, Team Rocket is still a bunch of idiots, and Dawn has a buneary. Whee._

/*/

 _September 12th, 2008._

 _I don't know if I've ever been so happy to see a city in my life. Yes, we are in Jubelife city! And Dawn is looking forward to getting a poketech. Yea for Iwatches in poke form! Humans really do repeat themselves a lot, don't we?_

/?/

A/N: and there you go! 10 episodes condensed into one chapter with sarcastic journal entries and 'evil' training sessions thrown in for spice. I like writing Fremd. She's so... delightfully cracked. Oh she's mostly sane, but there are times where she lets her insanity out. Those are the really fun times. Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the gray box below!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I do own Fremd. Ask permission before using. She might dislocate your wrist if you don't.

 **Chapter 7:** The Bet Ends

They had arrived in Jubilife city late the previous night, so Dawn hadn't been able to get her poketech that day. Fremd was anxious. It was September 13th. Five days away from her battle with Paul. Five days from the end of the bet. Five days until the moment of truth. "We have to find a poketech store!" Dawn exclaimed, totally into her new piece of gear. Fremd grumbled, knowing it was a waste of time. She'd sensed the malicious intent of two individuals near by and figured, it was team rocket up to their usual tricks. At least she'd gotten Jessie and James, along with Meowth, out of it. They really weren't that bad. Still, they were up to no-good, that was for sure. A~nd there she goes. To the obviously... okay then. Not so obviously fake poketech stand. Well, Fremd would say this for Butch and Cassidy. They were much better at disguising themselves than Jessie and James. Okay, so here's the scene. Dawn was told the poketechs had all been recalled. Ash rolled his eyes at the coincidence and locks eyes with Fremd. Fremd nodded and together they dragged Dawn out of the store. Hearing calls about having discounted poketech, Dawn broke free and went to the stall. It was a rather legitimate looking place, made of wood and displaying what could only be poketech while a man and a woman, each wearing business suites, stood to either side, hawking their wares. Fremd could almost believe them, if she hadn't been a naturally suspicious person and heard that all poketech had been recalled. "I don't believe it!" Dawn cried happily. Fremd and Ash scoffed at the same time. Brock, the ever lovable not-a-rock-specialist, and Brad had slipped off to the store with Fremd's complements, and a request for oranges. And one of those chocolate oranges, if they could find it. She actually rather liked those. Still, Fremd had something to attend to at the moment.

"I don't either!" she called, scowling at the pair. "Poketech all over town get recalled, and these guys still have theirs? How did the officials miss these guys? I mean, half the square can hear them shouting about discount poketech! And another thing! Why would such a hot new item already be discounted?! I call foul!" the surly woman shouted, scowling heavily at the Rocket cell. She could see them sweating and smirked. "So, how ya gonna get out of this one... Brosh?" she said, her smirk gaining a slightly sadistic edge.

"It's BUTCH!" the man screamed, leaping at her. Fremd neatly sidestepped, allowing Butch to fly straight into Ash's fist. The young trainer scoffed, shaking out his hand from the blow.

"And people say _I'm_ easy to rile up," he said, shaking his head. An officer Jenny had been drawn to the commotion, and was starting to ask what had happened, when she saw a rather smug Fremd.

"Oh. You. What was it this time?" she asked wearily. Fremd chuckled.

"Amazingly enough, it wasn't local. Say hello to Team Rocket's Botch and Cassidy," she said.

"Butch," the man moaned, hands still wrapped around his stomach. Fremd snickered.

"That's what I said... Frosh," she said, eyes glittering madly. Jenny shook her head and booked the criminals.

"What were they doing?"

"Selling fake poketech. Honestly, these guys..." Fremd answered, rubbing the back of her head. Ash sighed.

"I'll give you the full story at the station, Officer Jenny. Fremd's..."

"I understand kid. I'll give you a ride," the blue haired woman said, catching the trouble Ash was having putting his teacher into words. Fremd scoffed.

"I'm not that bad!" she called, trying to defend herself. Brad chuckled behind her and she whipped around. "I'm not!"

"Oh sure! You just enjoy watching people squirm and shout in irritation," he said smugly. She growled at him, then sighed. She may get mad easily, and mutter darkly, but when it came down to it, she couldn't stay mad for long. She ran out of angry things to do, and if there was one thing she hated, it was having nothing to do. It literally drove her mad.

/*/

So, Ash went with Jenny to help fill out the report, Fremd went off to the forest to train her pokemon, and Brad was left with Brock and Dawn at the pokemon center. They ended up playing Go-Fish. And they found out, Brad's a _very_ competitive person. "GIVE ME YOUR KINGLER!"

"I DON'T HAVE ANY KINGLER! GO FISHING!" As was Brock.

"YOU DO TO HAVE KINGLER! GIVE EM' HERE!" Brad bellowed back.

"Cawdawnt," Dawn muttered quietly to the other trainers they'd roped in. Katrina wordlessly handed her a card.

"Sharpedo?" Reggie queried placidly.

"Here," Dawn answered, sliding over the card.

"Oh thank you! I win," Reggie said happily, spreading all of his cards out on the table in front of him.

"I DON'T HAVE YOUR STINKIN'... wait... did you just say you won?" Brock shouted, turning to the other trainer in surprise. Reggie grinned at him.

"Read 'em and weep!" he said, turning over his cards in what had to be a practiced sweep of his hand. Dawn sat back with a huff. This was the third time!

"That's it!" she cried, slamming a hand on their table. "Time for a change!" Brad grinned like a sharpedo.

"You're on!" he called. Katrina and Reggie sighed, but stayed. These guys were fun. And they had time to kill until Zack came back anyway.

/*/

"How do you always manage to get the Blue Eyes White Dragon on the third turn? I don't even have time to set the trap card!" Brock asked.

"I am Yugi Moto. Bow before me," Brad said smugly.

"No. Know why? _Because you aren't Yugi Moto!_ " Brock seethed, slapping down another card in an attempt to salvage his game.

"... I am Jaden Yuki. Bow before me," Brad said, countering Brock's last move.

"Jaden never had a Blue Eyes!"

"... I am Joey Wheeler. Bow before me."

"Joey... ! Ya know what? I give up. Destroy my Dark Magician, I don't care anymore," the not-a-rock-specialist said, throwing down his cards.

"Yes! Seto Kiba cannot be beaten!" Brad exclaimed gleefully.

"... Brad... you're seriously unstable."

"But you love me!"

"... Go jump in a lake."

"It's more fun watching those two than it is playing the game," Dawn mused. Reggie nodded, Ash threw down a face down, Katrina cackled madly as she played the Red Eyes Black Dragon, and Dawn squawked as she realized her Celtic Warrior had just been torched.

"Yu-Gi-Oh! RULES!" Brad cheered. Brock fell forward, moaning in mental agony.

"I am never playing cards with you again, you understand?" Brad grinned a sharpedo-like grin.

"We shall see, my friend. We shall see!" he said evilly. A fresh deck of cards was introduced and they started to play Pit. At first it was going fine... but then Brad and Brock started throwing the cards like throwing stars at each other instead of passing them. They were saved when in walked Fremd. She saw the card table, the two random trainers, and sighed before falling into a spare chair.

"What did I miss?" she asked Dawn. The coordinator proceeded to tell her about how they had played Go-Fish for five games, Brad and Brock being so competitive about it she had roped in two others so she could have a game, and then how they suddenly had Yu-Gi-Oh decks and Brad was insane and then they started to play pit but Brad and Brock were throwing the cards in a rather dangerous manner. Fremd just nodded and said, "Deal me in." Dawn moaned while Brad and Brock were too wrapped up in their staring to care. Ash was partially worries, but also a little excited to see how this would go. He had a feeling it would end in tears.

/*/

Ash had been right. Nurse Joy broke them up when she started seeing blood. He was glad of that. He didn't want someone to loose a finger from an aura infused card. Because they were there. Oh Ash didn't infuse his aura into the cards. NO! That was all Fremd. Crazy woman. And Brad was worse! At least Fremd hadn't been throwing the cards. Nope, she had been sliding them across the table with terrifying precision. He wondered if he'd ever be able to do that. It'd have to be with other aura users or pokemon, since normal humans likely wouldn't be able to handle that kind of thing, but it would be cool. Fremd yawned, stretched, then grabbed up her jacket and made her way to the rooms all pokemon centers offered to the trainers free of charge. The others followed suit soon after and they spent a quiet night.

/*/

Paul surveyed Jubilife city from his perch. The acranine by his side, Flan, growled with expectation. No matter what happened here, she'd be back with Fremd. And if the trainer she had been forced to work with won and then demanded to make the switch permanent... well. Acranines were known to be highly loyal. And no-one got in the way of an acranine returning to it's master. Though, Flan and Fremd had a much different relationship than most pokemon had with their trainers. They weren't pokemon and master, not even fully pokemon and trainer. They were friends, colleagues, partners. Sure there were fourteen others in their partnership, but that was the best way to describe it. Paul moved forward and Flan could do noting but follow. Not that she'd want to do something other than follow. Fremd was in that city after all. And Flan was going to be reunited with her Fremd.

/*/

Having received poketch for Dawn, and signing both Dawn and Ash up for the contest that was going to be held in a few minutes, Fremd left the children in the capable hands of Brock and Brad before slipping out to the forest for some more one-on-one training. She was working with her Dark team for most of the Contest. Then, just as the whole shebang was ending, she switched over to her Fighting team. This was her favorite. The snap-twang of rapidly coiling, uncoiling, then recoiling muscles, the meaty thumps and thuds of flesh hitting flesh, the pounding of blood in her ears, the swift tattoo of feet on the ground, the sharp whistling of speeding limbs, the wide grins, the short breaths, the sweat dripping off her brow, the breathless laughs... she loved it. Then a new player jumped in, blond hair dancing in the wind of her strikes. "Brad," she breathed. He grinned and followed the pattern, dancing the Dance, and Fremd watched him. The way he moved, the precision of his strikes, the sureness of his step, the power in his attacks. He was beautiful and she couldn't stop watching.

/*/

Brad had seen her fighting with her Fighting team, had watched the Dance, and understood her love of it. He had felt it too. So, it was without a second thought that he joined in. He could feel the beat in his veins, the nuances in the air. He danced the Dance like one born to it, and fell in love with it the moment he caught Fremd's shining eye. No words were necessary. Fighting was the true expression of fighters and their thoughts and emotions. They Danced for what felt like an eternity, but what Brad knew was really only a half hour. He knew the Dance, was accustom to hard days, but he did not have the same stamina as Fremd, who had been going for longer but wasn't as winded as he himself. "Why did you come?" she asked, though he could tell she wasn't complaining. Merely curious. He could handle curious.

"The contest is over. Our kids did well, but no ribbon," he said. Fremd sighed. Yeah, that fit. Oh well.

"How did they take it?"

"Dawn has a rival."

"Oh how cute! Name?"

"Zoey."

"Hum. Okay. How'd Ash make out?"

"He's decided that straight forward battles are the way for him."

"Yeah, I thought he might. Then again, if he had found a second calling in contests I wouldn't have been too surprised," Fremd said, having wiped her face. Brad shrugged.

"Me neither, but he looked a little at odds with the dressing up and frills and what not," he said. Fremd thought this over, then shrugged.

"So he's picking up more than fighting from me, that what you're saying? Or is it just that he's more boy than I previously suspected?"

"There are male coordinators, and there are several coordinators who could sweep the battle field with more traditional battlers," Brad said with a shrug of his own. Fremd smirked.

"I know, Brad. You tried your hand at contests yourself, did you not?" He looked startled.

"You knew?" She scoffed.

"Knew? I watched."

"Huh. What do ya know. She does care."

"Shut up. You know it was just so I could observe your battling techniques," Fremd huffed, though there was a fond note to her voice, softening the blow. Brad snorted. "And I must say, you weren't too shabby," Fremd added lightly before sashaying into the woods, headed back to town.

"Man but she's amazing," Brad breathed. Blaze Fist came up beside him and clapped him on the shoulder, red-yellow eyes boring into Brad's own violet ones. "Don't worry big guy, I won't hurt her. I almost doubt she even knows I feel that way about her," he said. Blaze shook his head and Brad could have sworn he was smirking. Those eyes turned back to him and suddenly, it was as if Brad could understand what the blazekin was thinking.

'So not what I meant man. So not what I meant.'

"Then what did you mean?" This look was harder to decipher, but he thought it was something like,

'She couldn't keep her eyes off you. Idiot.' Brad blinked.

"O... Kay? But... what about... ?"

'You don't know the half of it.'

"Right. Don't know the half of it. Makes sense," he said, nodding to the taller pokemon. Blaze gave his odd chuckle and moved to follow his trainer. Brad sighed. Another day, another mystery. All part and parcel when it came to the love of his life.

/*/

 _September 15_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Okay... contest, no ribbon, Zoey, training, Brad's gorgeous in The Dance, Blaze Fist seems to be playing matchmaker... Oh yeah! And Card Games of Doom. Note to self, don't pit Brad and Brock against each other. It can only end in tears. Sometimes of Awesomeness, but mostly of pain and frustration. Honestly, those two, when it comes to card games, are like what I imagine Sirius and James would have been. Suffice to say: crazy. Ah well, another day, another lesson._

/*/

 _September 16_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Ash is a quick study. Yes, I know, how could I be saying that right? Well, now that he's got past the shouting and the initial hormone roller-coaster of early adolescence, meaning he's actually aware that his emotions are more volatile, we are making good progress. Starting him on discipline and patience was a good idea, as was introducing aura with meditation. He can already call on his aura without the meditation and hold it longer than I could at that stage. Whether this is because he just has a stronger aura than me or if the meditation got his body used to channeling it, I am unsure. Still, it is heartening. He doesn't quite know it, but he's been channeling aura into his strikes during training. It's a little frightening, how natural the combat aspect of aura is coming to this boy. Ah well, he is the Chosen Hero. I guess it is to be expected. But I'm teaching him first aid, with and without aura, next. Probably after the second gym. Speaking of, does Jubilife City have a gym? And if it does, has Ash been there yet? If not, it would be a good distraction until Paul arrives to finish our bet. It ends in two days, the 18th. I can almost taste... no. It would not do for me to get ahead of myself. Pride comes before the fall, after all. I cannot allow myself to fall to the Dark Side. What am I, a jedi? Psha! Nope! I'm a Pokemon Hermit! That's been dragged out of her nice little cave in the wilds of Rota to train a brat into a hero. My life man, my_ life _._

/*/

 _September 17_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _More training, more whining, more waiting, more Ash being Ash. He said he didn't want to go looking for the gym just yet. There was this_ glint _in his eye that just... urgh. I think Blaze recruited him. I do not need any help with my love life you idgits! I am perfectly fine as I am thank you ever so much. And tomorrow... *squee!* My battle with Paul. The end of the bet. The moment of truth. Eek! I'm so excited! Flan! I'm coming for you my darling!_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _P.S: Turns out, Jubilife does_ not _have a gym. Huh. Guess that means that Ash_ wasn't _recruited. He was just silently laughing at me. So what if I don't care about the gyms? I could sweep them all with just Blaze Fist! I could have swept the Hoenn league with three pokemon! It's just too mainstream and_ way _too easy. Then again, the various Teams around the regions aren't all that hard to decimate either. Ugh._

/*/

September 18th, 2008 dawned bright and clear, and Fremd was there to meet it. She was training starly vigorously, pitting her against Addie the absol and Leo the pyroar. At the same time. Ash and Brad watched with a bowl of popcorn as the nimble bird darted between the two quadrupeds, peppering them with attacks. Of course, Leo was the closest to a benchmark for how powerful the little bird's attacks would be against Flan while Addie was as good a benchmark for speed as they were going to get. Though, both were of a slightly higher level than Flan, and had been training with starly the whole month, more or less. Plus, starly had gotten a lot of experience spotting little details from high in the air. Being lost and one of the only fliers in the group did tend to make one try their hardest. "Your doing great starly! Another two passes and we'll call it done until Paul comes to finish this," Fremd called, around noon. Starly was very pleased with this, and did her best to give a good showing before lunch and a good rest, hopefully, before Paul, her _registered_ trainer, came to fight the one who'd _actually_ trained her. Tensions were high and excitement swirled around the whole group. Then, four hours later, Paul showed up. He looked completely unruffled, calm, collected, and cold as ice. Fremd grinned a feral grin at the purple haired boy. ' _If I beat him, perhaps I can get one of the most epic love stories-that-didn't-really-happen in Pokemon. Ikarishipping FTW! Now, to win this,'_ Fremd thought, bouncing starly's ball in her hand. "Well Punk? Are you ready to prove whether or not you were right?" she asked sweetly. Ash fought down a mad giggle. One, boys don't giggle. Two, giggling at Fremd's 'I'm-gonna-rip-you-a-new-one' voice was a sure fire way of getting that promise turned on you. And Ash _did not_ want that. Anyone who did was well and truly insane. Paul scoffed.

"Let's just do this," he said, tossing out Flan. She certainly didn't look any stronger, and she was most certainly not happy with the arrangement.

"Flan! Give me your all!" Fremd called, giving the arcanine a stern look. Dawn could have sworn the large dog looked... mareep-ish. Paul scoffed again, and kicked off the battled with a flame wheel. Fremd scoffed right back.

"Fly above, then Wheel," she said. Starly nodded and flew above the fire coated canine, then flew in almost lazy circles. When Flan stopped her attack, Fremd laughed a vicious counter. "Gust then Aerial Ace! Add in Peck while you're at it!" The Gust blew out any residual flames, the Aerial Ace lit up starly's wings with flying type energy, and the little bird's beak glowed similarly. Paul tried to tell Flan to dodge, and Flan tried to do so anyway, but the brave little bird hit all the same. Flan winced, bouncing back, and Fremd grinned at Paul. The boy was growling, grinding his teeth.

"Flame Thrower!"

"Fly!" Back and forth they went. Paul would order an attack, Fremd would have starly dodge, then counter attack. The speed and precision of the strikes were stereotypical Fremd, but the brute force tactics of Paul... Fremd wasn't so sure this was how he normally battled. Had he not realized what all Flan could do? Or did he not often use canine pokemon? Or was it fire types? Whatever it was, she was fairly certain he was usually far more decisive with his moves. Finally, after a full forty-five minutes, starly hit Flan one last time... and the mighty arcanine fell, completely knocked out. Fremd flashed Paul a triumphant smile. "I was right," she said, returning starly. "Now," she said, stalking toward him with a terrifying grin. Paul thought to scramble backward, but he found he couldn't. Her green-blue eyes held his own dark gray eyes and wouldn't let them go. "You are mine," she purred, gripping his chin, making absolutely sure he knew she was talking to him, and pressing starly's pokeball into his hand. It felt as though she were clapping him in irons. She walked off with Flan's pokeball, fully intending to pamper the loyal pouch, and Ash approached Paul.

"I may not like you. I may think you're a cruel jerk. But for right now," he clapped a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sorrowful look, "I feel your pain." Paul let his head fall forward. Right. For loosing the bet... he had to travel with the mad woman. That's when he jerked and looked to Ash.

"You... you travel with her?" he asked, dread filling him. Ash gave him a sad smile.

"Not just me," he said, nodding to Brad, Brock, and Dawn. Paul moaned and Ash patted him consolingly on the shoulder. "Sorry man. At least you get your own tent," he said, trying his best to cheer his new traveling buddy up. He got a deeper moan in response. Ash and the rest sighed heavily. This... was going to be one long trip.

/*/

September 18th, 2008.

I won! Yes! Paul is now mine! Muawhahahaha! Now I can play matchmaker and get him and Dawn together! Their fluffy little love stories were always so cute on , even if a few were unbelievable with their pacing(and really, who doesn't have trouble with that in the beginning? I probably did. Especially when I wanted to get to what I considered the good part. Oops! Off track!). Anyway. Yes. I beat Paul with his starly while he was using my Flan. Flan did what she could with Paul as her trainer, but starly was, well, a star! And now I get to train Paul! I'm thinking a different type of disapline for him. Perhaps... nah. I can't make him speak all his thoughts like how I made Ash speak _none_ of his. Hum... alright. I'll just have to pry. And sic Dawn on him. Heehee! Sic Dawn on him. Ha! Someday, I'm gonna look back on all this and laugh. Maybe the others will be there to laugh with me, maybe not. Ash has already expressed interest in my journal, and so did Brock and May. Hum... we'll see. But if the brat _ever_ steals from me again... I'll make what I did last time look like a walk in the park!

/?/

A/N: So yeah. That happened. What? Did you think I'd let Paul beat my not-quite-Sue? Ha! Fat chance! I wanted him in the group. Because, yeah, I like Ikarishipping. And Pokeshipping. Leave now if you're super opinionated and the pairing ruins it for you. I've still got Fremd. And my own amusement. So there!(Yeah, sorry, finishing this chapter at, like, 10:33 P.M. I'm a little out of it.) Anyway! Tell me what you thought in the review section! Do it! Or I'll sic Skittles on you!

Regenengel3


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own Fremd and Brad. And a few other twists. Nothing beyond that.

 **Chapter 8:** Paul's Training Begins

Paul didn't know what to make of the group he'd found himself in. It was loud, rowdy, rough, tough, and... "Come on buneary! You can do it!" sickeningly optimistic and showy.

"Why?" he asked. His captor grinned at him. It was an unsettling sight.

"Because, Paul, you need to lighten up. Did training Flan teach you nothing?" she asked. Paul shivered in the faint wind, phantom pains tingling along his arms and face. Oh, speak not of that demon dog! "See? You need a different approach. Otherwise, you're going to drive them all away." Paul blinked. It... didn't sound like... she was talking about pokemon.

"Who's... them?" Her grin grew... sad?

"Anyone and everyone, Punk. Anyone and everyone," she said before going over to Bothersome and... was that a Force Palm? What? "Focus Dickkoph! You can't get a good flow if you don't _focus!_ Now do it again! Come on!" Wait. What? *Boom!* "The~hare ya go! See? Focus. Determination. Dying Will... no wait. Wrong show. Eh, same principal... I think. Ah well, you did it, that's what matters. Now. Do it again, and make sure it's perfect," She sang, grinning at Bothersome in... was it... pride? She looked over at Paul and he quickly turned away, toward his pokemon. He did _not_ need to see that smug look on her face. This was his training. Identify the emotions another person was feeling. He had a feeling She was later ask him to not only identify the emotions, but to determine what _caused_ the emotions. Ugh. Women. Why was he here again?

"Starly! Sta star ly Starly!" his starly chirped. Oh right. The bet. He couldn't believe he lost! He had the stronger pokemon, he trained it just as he always had, he battled like he always had, and yet... and yet the starly had beaten him. The _starly_ had beaten the _arcanine_. It was unheard of! And yet, it happened. He scowled. It shouldn't have though! He should have won! And then he could have... what? What would he have asked of her? Leave him alone? Admit he had the better strategy? Take back calling him a coward? … Ask for training? He growled and punched the tree beside him. No! He was Paul Robelledo! He didn't need anyone!

"The tree never did anything to you," Her voice said, a light amusement coloring her voice. Paul huffed, refusing to look at her. "Anyway, Ash is set, Brock's out searching for dinner, Dawn's working on her routine... which leaves you and me big guy. Come on Punk. Time for your first lesson." He blinked. First lesson? She was serious about the teaching? "Well? You just gonna stand there all day like a lump of wood or are you going to get over here for your training?" Paul smirked and jogged over. Too bad he didn't see the wince on Ash's face or hear the hiss from Dawn. If he had, he might have started running.

/*/

Pain. Mind numbing pain. A pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. Paul was in such great pain. And She was smirking at him. Oh if he just had the strength to call out to his pokemon... he'd blast that smirk right off her smug little face! "Nighty night Punk! Sweet dreams!" She sang. _Sang!_ Then she punched him out. Oh yes, she punched him, and it knocked him out. His last conscious thought was, 'I'm going to get her for this.' He didn't know when, he didn't know how, but he was going to get her for the torture she had just put him through. Ten hours later, he woke up feeling like his head had been split open and then filled with fire ants. His eyes burned, his tongue was hot and heavy in his mouth, and his stomach was growling like an angry ursaring. "Ah, look who decided to wake up!" She sang. Pain throbbed in his already hurting head. He growled, but it hurt too much to keep it up for long. She seemed to take pity on him, and handed him a... thing. It looked like one of those old fashion army canteens, circular, flat, with a screw on lid and a shoulder strap. Smelled kinda like what he imagined they would too. Like mud and sweat with this tinge of something else. He assumed it was some sort of chemical used to make the drab olive green cloth covering it water resistant. Or maybe it was mildew. Mildew would work too. But Paul didn't really have any time to be picky. Nope. She focred the thing into his hands and gave him this look like 'drink or I'll force it down your throat myself.' For once, Paul did as he was 'told' and drank. He nearly spit it back out the moment the drink hit his tongue. He gagged, but swallowed it down.

"What was that!?" he demanded. She smirked, eyes glinting with... mischief? Amusement? Oh great. She was a sadist. Wonderful. Just what he needed.

"Oh nothing much. Just my special mountain berry smoothie. Those things kept me alive. I was cut off from civilization, up in the mountains. So, I made do, mashed up my berries, mixed them with the water I got from melting snow, scooped up cleaner snow, popped it in, mixed the whole thing real well, and hey presto!" She said, far too happy. Paul blinked.

"What kind of berries?" he asked, looking at the canteen in suspicion. The mixture tasted horrible.

"Cheri, pecha, aspear, leppa, oran, razz, and nanab, with a dash of protein powder. I usually add a few other odds and ends to make it more of a meal, but you get the berry and protein mix," She said, eyes glinting evilly. Paul groaned. "What? Believe it or not, it's very nutritious and, like I said, it kept me alive while I lived among the clouds. You'd be surprised how many berries grow up there. Now, drink up. You'll thank me later," She said, then off she went. Paul saw her start kicking Ash before he took a deep breath and chocked down the spicy, bitter, sweet&sour, mix-match of berry juice that had a rather gritty texture due to the protein powder. It was horrible. But, when he was done – it had only been half full – he had to admit. His tormentor knew her berries. He was feeling a lot better now. She seemed to notice, because She came over. Paul decided, he really need to find a better name for Her than... well... what he'd been calling... Her. Yeah. He needed a better name for his captor. Pain? Torment? "Try teacher. Or mentor. Or sensei. I'd be cool with any of them," She said. Paul huffed. Maniac. Yes. That was her name. Maniac.

/*/

Fremd could feel the dark emotions flooding off Paul, but she only grinned. "Fremd... he feels like he's planning your murder," Ash said quietly, a faint shiver racking his body. Fremd frowned slightly, which was to say her grin shrank to a barely there smirk.

"I've got to be hard on him, just as I was on you," she said. Ash sighed.

"May I speak with him?" he asked, hope in his aura. Fremd sighed, but nodded. Ash grinned and bobbed off. "Hey," he said, sitting beside a glaring Paul. The purple haired trainer grunted, still glaring daggers at Fremd's back. "She's immune to glares, Paul," Ash said, amusement in his tone. Paul turned his Look of Death on Ash. The boy snickered. "And her Look of Death trumps yours. Honestly, it looks more like an 'I really don't like you' stare than an 'I'm plotting your doom' look," he said. Paul sighed and fell back in defeat.

"What do you want," he asked, voice soft yet harsh. Ash smirked.

"To fill you in on what kind of person Fremd is... and just how lucky you are to have her," he said. Paul cracked open an eye, watching him speculatively. "When we first met, I'd just found out... something about myself. Ever hear of Rota?"

"The kingdom with the Tree of Beginning and the history of aura guardians that claims to have a mew?"

"Oh good. I don't need to explain as much as I thought. First, there is a mew in Rota. She looks after the Tree of Beginning. Second, the aura guardians were real. Third, they bonded to their pokemon. Forth, I had to save the Tree of Beginning with the help of Sir Aaron's lucario." Paul was looking at him like he was insane by now. "And yeah, things like that... have begun to seem pretty normal to me."

"Who were you in a past life to have such rotten luck?"

"HA! If I believed in reincarnation, I'd say an aura guardian. See, I can use aura, just like Sir Aaron could. In fact, my aura is so similar to Aaron's, I was able to use his staff, which acted like a bio-lock pokeball." Ash noticed the blank look on Paul's face, but kept going. "And yeah, saying it like that I realize, my life's kinda messed up if this seems like a usual Tuesday. Anyway, after I got done saving mew... wow. Yeah. That sounds... anyway! Fremd and her lucario, Luke, caught up with us in Lady Irene's throne room and pretty much said 'you're coming with me whether you like it or not brat!'"

"Sounds about right," Paul said, laying back down. Ash frowned.

"Wait. No. That wasn't when we first met. She came to Pallet Town after the Indigo League. We were celebrating how far I got. I had slipped away to have some space when she came up behind me. She I did good, but was 'still a bit rough around the edges.' Her voice was gruff, but I could tell it was a woman's. I turned around, surprised. She grinned at me, told me she was glad she caught me before I left. 'You're something of a raising star in Kanto, did you know? Then again, I heard your name over in Johto, just before I caught a ferry over to watch the Indigo League,' she said." Ash paused and looked back at the stars. "I didn't know what to make of her. She was unsettling, but there was something about her... I had to know who she was. 'At least you aren't a _total_ idiot. I have many names, but you may call me Fremd,' she said. I knew it wasn't really her name. When I asked, she said it was a reminder. She looked, really sad. I know a little of her past, but not much. No-one really does. Before she left, she said we'd meet again and when we did, she'd have an offer she hoped I'd take. Our second encounter, was the one I first started describing. I didn't really get off on the right foot with her then. I recognized her, but beyond that first encounter, I didn't know a thing about her. She kept asking me if I wanted to take up her offer, to 'progress from the plateau' I had found myself on. Lady Irene said something about how she, Fremd, was a great warrior and listed off these titles I didn't know of. Pokemon Traveler, Pokemon Camper, Exile, Number Trainer, Dance Trainer, or Three Team Trainer."

"WAIT! _She's_ the _Exile_?!" Paull shouted in surprise. Ash grinned at him.

"Yep. 'course, being the idiot I am, I asked 'who?'" he snickered while Paul looked at him incredulously, shock still plain on his face. "She didn't take too kindly to that," Ash said, grinning with that dratted glint in his eye. Paul fell back again with a 'huoof.'

"You are insane," he declared. Ash laughed. Full on laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Anyway, she snapped."

"Can't imagine why."

"Shush! My story! Anyway, she snarled, 'That's it! Even if I had hoped not to have a reputation, even I have heard of all of those titles, and I make it a point to live in the wilderness with just my pokemon! Your time of tactless ignorance has come to an end! I'm training you whether you like it or not and believe you me, you're going to hate me for a good three months. At _least!_ ' and dragged me out of there. She then put me through my paces, and told me I'd be doing those exact same exercises every day until I could do them without thinking. And I did. Still do. They're almost a reflex now. When we left the Rota wilderness, I was basically the pack animal. When I started lagging... it wasn't pretty. Then she gave me this speech. A speech I doubt I'll ever forget. A speech I'm going to relate to you now. Why? Because it's just that amazingly Fremd."

"Oh just get on with it," Paul moaned. Ash smiled kindly at him, though he couldn't see. Paul had rolled over so his back was facing Ash.

"'Ash, to become the best, you must surpass your own expectations, must press on when the world seems to be against you. Exhausted must become tired, worn out must become winded, scared must become concerned, friends must become comrades, trouble must become annoyances. The evil Teams and Syndicates and gangs must come to fear you, to tremble at your name. Children as young as three must know your name, five year olds must scream in delight when they see you coming, teens must want to grow up to be you. That... is what it means to be the best, the greatest there ever was, the Pokemon Master. A legend. I will train you, but you must be willing to work hard, Mr. Ketchum. Hard enough to surpass me as a trainer and close range fighter, and to surpass your ancestor, Sir Aaron, as an Aura Guardian. Luke will assist you in the latter, but only after you have proven to me that you can at the very _least_ match me,'" Ash recited in a soft, quite, almost reverent voice. Paul had frozen, a clear sign he was actually paying attention. Ash sighed and leaned back on his hands. "That's what has been driving me forward all this time, Paul. I want to be the very best, like no-one ever was. Before I met Fremd, I was content to coast, to take it easy, to just have fun with it. Now? Now I feel exhilarated when I train. If I go too long without pushing myself, it's like the world goes hazy. I can't sit still and let the world pass me by. I can't stand by," he sighed and dropped his head back, eyes distant, and Paul felt like he was the younger in this conversation. "You push your pokemon hard, and that's okay. But you're harsh about it. Cold. Unrelenting. That's not okay. Pushing past what you perceive as your limits is good, but pushing someone else without giving them any sort of positive reinforcement ever? That... that's not so good. For a long time I got called pathetic by Fremd, but I could always see that... she wasn't really angry. She was just... disappointed. Like she knew I could do better than what I was doing. So, I did. I got better. And that pride... it wasn't contained to her eyes anymore." Ash sighed. "I'm... not getting my point across well," he moaned. Paul snorted.

"Oh don't stop talking on my account," he groused. Ash smiled wanly at him.

"Well, you'll understand. In time," he said, then left for the other side of the clearing where his pokemon sat. Paul grunted, but thought about what Ash had told him. What did he mean, he'd understand in time? Understand what?

/*/

 _September 20_ _th_ _, 2008._

 _Paul is... difficult. It was hard to come up with a good preliminary training for him, but I finally managed to work one out. It's hard to monitor, but I'm having him identify emotions. He's not too bad about physical exercise, but... man is he hard to get along with! Though I must admit, seeing him choke down my Mountain Berry Smoothie this morning was wonderful. That thing is the weirdest combination of flavors, but it really did keep me alive while I wandered the mountains. Like a protein shake combined with a McDonald's Happy Meal mixture, with the drink being some sort of energy drink. And it had a similar effect too. Honestly, leppa berries are like caffeine pills to humans. OH! Meal in a Bottle with Five Hour Energy! Yep. That's what I made. Go me! Anyway, thing have been going... smoothly. For the most part. And Paul hates me. Heh. He's going to for at least two months. Maybe six. Okay, a year seems pretty likely too. This kid's got quite a bit of baggage. I can tell. Ugh. Migraine just thinking about it._

/*/

Fremd watched as Ash sparred with her newest pupil, Paul. Ash was consciously _not_ putting aura into his strikes, and Paul was floundering. Perhaps she had been a bit quick to throw Paul into combat training, it was only the second day after all. Perhaps, she should have started him off the same way as Ash. But, the boy had insisted. Dawn had given him a disapproving look, but said nothing. As had Brock and Brad. But Fremd operated under the 'burned once, never again' philosophy. And this was Paul's 'burned once' moment. However, he wasn't picking up on the 'never again' part of it. He wasn't giving up. He was being beaten black and blue, but he wasn't giving up. "Stop," Fremd breathed, but Ash leapt away as though Paul was a slugma. Fremd walked calmly up to the panting youth, then slowly and deliberately shook her head. "You are too weak for this. You require more training. Ash has been with me for... roughly four months now. He has more experience than you. Watch. Listen. Prepare. And then... I will teach you. Besides, Ash wasn't always successful in keeping aura from his strikes. He's a natural when it comes to combat... at least... when it comes to aura. Rest. We will train in the morning," she said, then returned to her pokemon. Ash winced. He thought he'd done well in not using aura.

/*/

A word about Dawn. Most people saw her as a little shallow and caught up in looking nice. Which she was... to a certain degree. However, she had a talent. Ever since she was a little girl, Dawn could judge a person's character. She was even able to use this talent on pokemon, to an extent. She could tell you what nature any given pokemon had, even without practicing. In another world, where magic ran free, she would have been called by a special name. She would have been hailed as an Assessor, one who could take one look at someone and know their personality, and some of what they were feeling. Dawn had been really good at it, a long time ago, but then she started getting teased about it. People called her a freak. Unnatural. Unwanted. They wouldn't play with her if they knew. It was why her family moved to Sinnoh. She had been born in Kanto. Near Rota, incidentally enough. But since meeting Fremd... she had started practicing with her talent again. Ash and Brock she nearly had figured out, but Fremd and Brad were taking longer. Dawn looked at the two boys in the motley group she had found herself a part of, but she was focusing on one in particular. Paul. He interested her. There was... some sort of... hidden softness? No. Buried kindness? Kind of like... he was a really nice child but then life kicked him around so much he locked his heart away. Yeah. That sounded right. He didn't look like he was too hard up for cash, so he wasn't a run away. Or hadn't been before getting his license. So it must have been his family. Had he been abused? Was he taking it out on his pokemon? It would make a certain amount of sense. But then... how could being trained by Fremd help? Would she make him talk about his emotions? That didn't seem like the kind of help he needed. She could see the burning humiliation in Paul's dark eyes. In that moment, Dawn vowed to be a friend for Paul, however she could. It would take a lot of patience... but so did working out new routines. She could take it. First step, help him when he's down. "Hey, need a hand?" He glared. Okay. This was going to be harder than she thought. No matter. She'd see this through. Paul got up on his own and brushed himself off before vanishing into the woods. Dawn huffed, but didn't express any more of her frustration. "Fine! Be that way!" Oh, did I say she didn't express her frustration? Whoops. My bad. After her hurt cry, she spun on her heel and returned to her tent and tried to sort through the feelings she was getting off of Paul. They were jumbled, chaotic. Confused. Okay. So. _He_ was confused. Ugh. That did not make her self appointed task any easier. She resigned herself to long hours 'reading' Paul. Not that she really found it much of a chore. She had found, since meeting Fremd, that she enjoyed a good challenge. And that introverts made the best of friends, once you managed to get inside their walls. And Paul certainly had walls.

/*/

Brad watched the whole confrontation go down, saw Ash walk off berating himself for loosing control over his aura, saw Dawn try to help Paul, and saw the last two go off on their own. He worried for the kids. He was almost starting to see them as his own, though he'd never been a father. He sighed. Everything was getting a lot more complicated around their camp. It set him on edge. Brad decided, he didn't like being on edge. He looked over to Fremd, who was typing busily away at her pokenav, a dark glower on her face as her fingers flew across the tiny pad. He shook his head. She really cared about the kids and the world around her, even if she came across as violent and sadistic. He knew better. She was protective, introverted, and had been burned. He knew she didn't have a family to return to, knew that she was a kind and caring person, but the world had dealt her bad hands at nearly every turn. Had dealt so many bad hands that Fremd had retreated to the hills and mountains and forests, never staying anywhere more than a few weeks. Traveling with these kids... it had to be hard on the World Wanderer.

/*/

 _September 21_ _st_ _, 2008._

 _Paul really is stubborn. I mean_ really _! Not like that's any great surprise. Most of this group is. Stubborn I mean. And me the stubbornest of the lot! Ah, the craziness of our lives. Makes me wonder what Arceus will throw at us next. Oh yes, I know it's coming, I just don't know what it is. Still, at least things haven't gone completely mental yet, so there's that. But the crazy is coming. My life can't be even keeled for long._

/*/

Fremd ended her journal entry, rubbing her right shoulder. It was faint, but when the light was right, one could see scars left by a mightyena's bite. She sighed and looked out over the peaceful camp. Oh, who was she kidding? The camp may be peaceful, but the inhabitants were just about anything but! Or, at least, their emotions were. Paul was angry, bitter, and confused. Ash was worried, frustrated, bemused, and ready to bash someone's head in. Brad was feeling more like a grandfather to a whole bunch of unruly kids than a father type mentor to a group of promising trainers while Brock felt like he was back home, surrounded by his multitude of younger siblings. Dawn was another matter however. She was on the hunt. She had made it her mission to be friends with Paul, to figure him out, and she was being stonewalled. Even her ability, which had surprised Fremd when she found out about it, wasn't helping too much. She growled to herself and stalked off to 'play' with her Dark Team. Time and place for everything, she told herself. Time and place for everything, and now was not the time for understanding. Not yet. Understanding would come, as it inevitably must, but Fremd preferred having a clear head for when it did.

/?/

A/N: Yeah. Another filler chapter. Blech. Then again, the whole show was basically filler so, meh. Also, I'm going to give Fremd a tattoo. When do you think she should get it, what kind of tattoo, and where should it be placed? I already have an idea for the last two, but I'm interested to see what you say. Until next time!

Regenengel3


End file.
